Two extra services will be added to the Craigieburn rail line each week day from August in a bid to ease overcrowding.
The extra services are part of a new metropolitan train timetable that will begin on August 27.
A new morning peak service and an evening peak service will be added to the Craigieburn line, creating 10 extra services a week.
Latest passenger load surveys from Public Transport Victoria show that the Craigieburn line is one of Melbourne’s most overcrowded.
The survey, which was carried out in May last year, found that 10 of the 20 morning services, between 7.01-9.30am were overcrowded.
During the afternoon peak, between 3.31-7pm, three services carried too many passengers.
The new timetable will also change the stopping patterns of Craigieburn services, with all morning peak trains running through the city loop.
It comes as new performance data reveals that about eight per cent of peak services on the Craigieburn line are delayed, making it one of Melbourne’s least reliable.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the timetable changes would simplify the way the Craigieburn, Werribee and Sunbury lines interacted, boosting the reliability of services on all lines and connecting passengers directly to more parts of the city in the morning.
Extra services will also be added to the Sunbury, Werribee and Hurstbridge lines.
“We’re running more trains at peak hour when extra services and more room are needed the most,” she said.
“The new services will make a real difference – getting people to work quicker and home sooner.”
Yuroke MP Ros Spence said the new services were a win for Craigieburn commuters.
The new timetable will be available from July.
