Afternoon-peak commuters on the Cranbourne and East Pakenham lines were stuck in the trains without air conditioning for up to two and a half hours last night, after a fault with overhead wires in the Armadale Station area.
Multiple commuters reported on social media that overhead power lines had fallen onto a train, leaving passengers stuck on board because leaving the train would cause life danger.
One commuter, who was left stranded in the train, posted on social media that she got on the train at 4.50pm at Parkville Station, and was allowed to get off around 7.17pm.
The disruption occurred on just the second working day of the new Metro Tunnel timetable, as many Cranbourne and East Pakenham line commuters were still familiarising themselves with the new travel patterns, with some already reporting longer travel times.
The power faults were not related to the Tunnel itself.
Metro Trains first announced the major delays on X (then-Twitter) at around 5.30pm on Tuesday 3 February.
A travel alert from the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) at about 6pm said buses were replacing trains on the Cranbourne/Pakenham and Sunbury lines between West Footscray and Caulfield stations due to a problem with overhead wires near Armadale.
“This suspension is impacting some services running through the Metro Tunnel. Services are stopped at specific points to ensure a speed recovery when repairs to overhead wires are complete,” the alert stated.
“Cranbourne/Pakenham passengers should change at State Library or Town Hall to the City Loop and use Frankston Line services to Caulfield. Those on Sunbury services can switch to a Werribee or Williamstown line service at West Footscray station.
“Trains will continue to run between Caulfield and Cranbourne/Pakenham, and Sunbury and West Footscray, with delays likely.”
The commuters were told that replacement buses had been ordered, but it would take over 60 minutes to arrive.
They were also told to allow 30 extra minutes for the journey.
The overhead power fault was fixed overnight, according to Metro Trains.
However, select services were cancelled, including three morning peak-hour services on the Cranbourne Line, due to some trains being out of position.
Shadow Minister for Public Transport Matthew Guy said trapping passengers on trains for up to two and a half hours without air conditioning in 30-degree heat was a “big failure” and a “disgrace”.
He questioned if it would happen again.
“The Government hasn’t done the work on electrical systems on the whole network ready for the Big Switch (new Metro Tunnel timetable), where all these new computerised trains come into the network,” he said.
A Metro Trains spokesperson said they apologise for the inconvenience this disruption caused and thank passengers for their patience.
“While we know there was a lot of extra travel time for passengers, safety is always our top priority,” they said.
“As a result of the Metro Tunnel being unavailable, we directed passengers to the City Loop as the alternate way in and out of the city.”
Metro Trains informed that to keep passengers and staff safe, the two trains closest to the fault remained in the position where they stopped until the situation was confirmed to be safe for Metro staff to help them off the train and to walk to nearby Malvern station.
The train drivers and Metro’s Control Centre kept passengers informed about the delay, and advised them to stay on board. Passengers were helped off the first train from 6.30pm, and off the second train from 7pm.
