{"id":363344,"date":"2026-02-06T16:25:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T06:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=363344"},"modified":"2026-02-06T16:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T06:26:07","slug":"third-world-thousands-left-stranded-for-hours-in-15-billion-project-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=363344","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Third World\u2019: Thousands left stranded for hours in $15 billion project fail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Victoria\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \u201csagging cable\u201d has been blamed for the breakdown<\/a>, which brought services to a half during Tuesday night\u2019s peak, trapping passengers on two brand-new trains in sweltering heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meltdown unfolded just three days after Premier Jacinta Allan<\/a> promised the state \u201cfaster and more reliable\u201d journeys under the $15.5 billion Metro Tunnel project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transition, branded the \u201cbig switch\u201d, was meant to mark a new era for the city\u2019s rail network, seeing the redirection of Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham line services away from the City Loop and exclusively through the new tunnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cThird World.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This morning, Ms Allan and Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams issued an apology to affected commuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A major failure has overshadowed the opening of Melbourne’s metro tunnel. Picture: X<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d 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,\u201d Ms Allan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2013 granted they call a government hotline to claim it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Williams said the incident was triggered when a cable near Hawksburn Station sagged, cutting power to both trains and forcing them to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said halting the services was necessary for safety reasons, conceding the situation was far from acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really disappointing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over 2000 people are believed to have been stranded last night after trains came to a halt. Picture: X<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInvestigations are underway to establish the cause of that fault, but our services have resumed this morning following rectification works, which were carried out overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She claimed that early indications showed no signs that the fault related to the Metro\u2019s new ramped up scheduling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Williams said it was likely up to 2000 people were stranded with limited water or support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a considerable period of time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can completely understand why those affected may have been quite distressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe take every lesson that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But opposition public transport spokesperson Matthew Guy was not convinced, instead labelling the government\u2019s \u201cbig switch\u201d and the \u201cbig failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYesterday was a disgrace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was third world conditions, 1200 people trapped on high capacity trains in the middle of stations and they\u2019ve got one small ladder to get them off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo and a half hours, no airconditioning, 30 something degrees in Melbourne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is anger in Melbourne as thousands of people were left stranded in sweltering heat without access to water or medical assistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":261707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1168,47],"tags":[19472,8634,993,8],"class_list":["post-363344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro-tunnel","category-rail-news","tag-armadale-incident","tag-jacinta-allan","tag-melbourne","tag-victoria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t