News analysis
A metro-style solution for Melbourne rail growth
With suburban rail traffic forecast to double over the next 20 years, Melbourne is looking at radical solutions to accommodate rising passenger volumes. Keith Barrow examines a new report from Public Transport Victoria, which provides a blueprint for developing the rail network in Australia’s second largest city
O those familiar with urban rail, Melbourne is a city synonymous with trams. With 27 routes and a total length of 249km, Melbourne’s network rivals other light rail giants such as Vienna in its scale, carrying around four million passengers per year. But the city also relies on an extensive suburban rail system, and this too has witnessed sustained growth in recent years with a 70% increase in passenger numbers over the last decade. In 2011 10% of commuters travelled into the city by train, well above the Australian average of 6.3%. With most population growth expected to occur in the north, west and east of the city over the next 20 years, and most new employment in the city centre, weekday ridership is expected to more than double to 1.7 million by 2031 with an annual growth rate of about 4%. This means more capacity is
T 20
urgently needed on a network already under pressure. On March 27 Public Transport Victoria (PTV) unveiled Network Development Plan - Metropolitan Rail, a 30-year blueprint for the development of the suburban rail network, which if implemented in full could increase peak capacity by 50% by 2023 and 100% within 20 years. The line-by-line proposals seek to accommodate rising demand while reconfiguring the timetable to improve connections with light rail and buses, and extending the network to areas not currently served by suburban rail. The aim is to develop what PTV terms a “metro-style” system, which is defined by
the following parameters: simple timetables with turn-
up-and-go frequencies stand-alone end-to-end lines which do not intersect or merge with other routes, allowing
disruption to be contained modern high-capacity signalling to maximise track
capacity and enhance reliability high-capacity trains designed to minimise station
dwell times, and grade-separated level crossings where the increased service would cause unacceptable traffic delays. To achieve this, PTV
prescribes investment in new infrastructure and rolling stock, alongside steps to optimise the performance of existing resources.
The plan is split into four stages, each roughly covering a five-year period. Stage 1 will be completed by 2016 and aims to tackle immediate critical constraints in the network, while providing a basis for expansion in future stages. Key projects include the already-committed Regional Rail Link (RRL) with new stations at Tarneit and
Wyndham Vale and additional platforms at Southern Cross; seven new trains and associated power supply and stabling upgrades; and 40 extra V/Locity dmu cars, which are on order from Bombardier with deliveries due to start next year. In addition, an order for 33 new high-capacity trains will be placed, and the 2011-12 Victoria state budget has allocated $A 210m towards the procurement of the new fleet. Initially these trains will carry up to 1100 passengers but will be designed to allow extension up to 220m in length. Emus in the current fleet are 143m long, and most platforms can accommodate 155m-long trains, although “challenging” infrastructure work would be required at city centre stations such as Flinders Street and Richmond to support the introduction of 220m-long trains. The report rules out
IRJ May 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60