Victoria’s much-hyped Metro Tunnel rollout has stumbled out of the gate after a fault on the network left hundreds of commuters stranded, just days after the Allan government unveiled its transport overhaul.
A “sagging cable” has been blamed for the breakdown, which brought services to a half during Tuesday night’s peak, trapping passengers on two brand-new trains in sweltering heat.
The meltdown unfolded just three days after Premier Jacinta Allan promised the state “faster and more reliable” journeys under the $15.5 billion Metro Tunnel project.
The transition, branded the “big switch”, was meant to mark a new era for the city’s rail network, seeing the redirection of Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham line services away from the City Loop and exclusively through the new tunnel.
More than 600 passengers were stuck on-board trains near Hawksburn Station for up to two hours, prompting furious criticism from the opposition, which labelled the scenes “Third World.”
This morning, Ms Allan and Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams issued an apology to affected commuters.
A major failure has overshadowed the opening of Melbourne’s metro tunnel. Picture: X
“I’d like to acknowledge and apologise to those passengers who had a really difficult experience last night as a result of a fault on the train network,” Ms Allan said.
Train services through the Metro Tunnel were suspended from about 5pm on Tuesday, until the first services on Wednesday, with replacement buses rolled out in the meantime.
Passengers who were trapped on board and reportedly forced to climb down ladders to disembark will be offered just a single day of free travel equating to $11.40 – granted they call a government hotline to claim it.
Ms Williams said the incident was triggered when a cable near Hawksburn Station sagged, cutting power to both trains and forcing them to stop.
She said halting the services was necessary for safety reasons, conceding the situation was far from acceptable.
“It’s really disappointing,” she said.
Over 2000 people are believed to have been stranded last night after trains came to a halt. Picture: X
“Investigations are underway to establish the cause of that fault, but our services have resumed this morning following rectification works, which were carried out overnight.”
She claimed that early indications showed no signs that the fault related to the Metro’s new ramped up scheduling.
Ms Williams said it was likely up to 2000 people were stranded with limited water or support.
“It’s a considerable period of time,” she said.
“I can completely understand why those affected may have been quite distressed.
“We take every lesson that we can.”
But opposition public transport spokesperson Matthew Guy was not convinced, instead labelling the government’s “big switch” and the “big failure.”
“Yesterday was a disgrace,” he said.
“It was third world conditions, 1200 people trapped on high capacity trains in the middle of stations and they’ve got one small ladder to get them off.
“Two and a half hours, no airconditioning, 30 something degrees in Melbourne
