Public Transport Victoria (PTV) has released its performance results for the month of October, with punctuality numbers for Metro, Yarra Trams and V/Line services for the most part remaining in line with the improvements made in the previous month.
PTV CEO Jeroen Weimar was pleased with the results for Metro Trains, which saw 92.6 per cent of services running on time, down only 0.2 per cent from September and above the 12-month average of 91.7 per cent.
“This is another strong result from Metro ahead of the introduction of a new contract from 30 November which will see a new target of 92.5 per cent of services on-time,” Mr Weimar said.
The line with the best punctuality figures for October was the Glen Waverly Line, with 97.1 per cent of trains running on time, a result above the line’s 12-month average 96.5 per cent.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Metro Line with the worst figures is the Pakenham Line, where major works have been underway for some time, with 88.2 per cent service punctuality.
“It’s been another busy month on the network with continued works to deliver the Hurstbridge Line Upgrade, as well as preparing the Cranbourne/Pakenham lines for the arrival of longer High Capacity Metro Trains in mid-2019,” Weimar said.
V/Line’s punctuality results of 87.9 per cent were 3.9 per cent above the 12-month average across the network: the best figures were on the Swan Hill & Echuca Line, with 95.1 per cent of services running on time, a rather steep improvement on the 12-month average of 78.3 per cent; while the worst were on the Bairnsdale Line, with only 77.6 per cent of trains running on time – an improvement on the line’s performance last month, which saw a mere 72.4 per cent of on-time services.
“It’s good to see continued improvement in V/Line performance data delivering more regional services, upgrading country crossings, and introducing more VLocity carriages to the busiest services,” Weimar said.
“We’ve got a long journey ahead of us as we continue to improve every line on our regional network, with the $1.57 billion Regional Rail Revival set to give regional Victorians the services they deserve.”
82.5 per cent of Yarra Trams’ Melbourne services ran on time in October, down two percentage points from last month’s figures. Weimar said that this was a good indication that trams services would continue to meet the new punctuality standards to be introduced at the end of the month.
“I’m pleased to see Yarra Trams continue to meet the tougher performance thresholds being introduced on 30 November to run 82 per cent of services on time,” he said.
New contracts with the operators of the Metro and tram networks were signed in September, enforcing steeper performance targets and harsher penalties: from November 30, Metro trains will have to run on time 92 per cent of the time per month (up from 88 per cent in the previous agreement), while trams must run on time 82 per cent of the time per month (up from 77 per cent).
Failure to meet monthly performance targets will cost Metro Trains up to $1.25 million, while the penalty for Yarra Trams will be up to $500,000.