By Laura Michell
Trains from Mernda have passed their first big test, with this morning’s services coping with the commuter rush.
The Mernda rail extension’s three new stations- Mernda, Hawkstowe and Middle Gorge- officially opened yesterday.
Commuters were overall happy to be able to board a train closer to home, despite crowding on the morning’s earlier services.
The carparks at the three new stations also passed their first test, with plenty of spaces available at Middle Gorge and Hawkstowe by mid-morning.
There were also free spaces at the normally overcrowded South Morang station.
However, some commuters found the parking spaces at Mernda station too small, with several commenting on the narrow spaces on Star Weekly’s Facebook page.
The extension is the result of almost 18 months of construction work along the rail corridor, creating 1200 construction jobs. More than 100 apprentices, cadets and trainees have worked on site.
The three new stations are expected to cater for up to 8,000 commuters a day.
South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance spokesman Darren Peters said the extension of the South Morang line to Mernda would make a difference to people’s lives.
While Mr Peters did not test out the new services this morning, he was among about 100 people who caught the first train to Mernda from South Morang at 3.34am on Sunday.
“Passengers clapped and cheered as we departed South Morang for Mernda for the first time…everyone on-board was happy to be part of history and to be able to say ‘I was on the first train to Mernda’ when we arrived at the station,” he said.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan, who caught the train to Mernda on Sunday with Premier Daniel Andrews, Yan Yean MP Danielle Green, Mill Park MP Lily D’Ambrosio, and Whittlesea councillors Kris Pavlidis, Tom Joseph and Emilia Lisa Sterjova, said the new stations had opened six months ahead of schedule.
“We know Mernda rail will change the way people live, work and travel from Melbourne’s north,” she said.
