MP ‘off track’

By Casey Neill
CONNEX has slammed State Opposition claims of a 60 per cent rise in cancellations on the Belgrave rail line, describing the report as ‘misleading’.
Opposition public transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the number of cancellations between Ringwood and Belgrave stations rose faster than the Melbourne-wide average, up 60.3 per cent from 247 in 2006 to 396 in 2007.
His comments followed the release of a Liberal Party analysis of Melbourne rail network cancellation figures on 4 March.
Mr Mulder said the analysis showed cancelled trains across Melbourne’s 16 rail lines increased by 46.5 per cent from 2006 to 2007.
“Commuters have been paying more since 1 January, getting fewer trains and travelling more slowly,” he said.
But Connex said that despite the cancellations it delivered 7750 more services to Melbourne last year than in 2006.
Connex CEO Bruce Hughes said 7330 cancellations out of the 633,149 scheduled services last year were far more than the company wanted to see.
He said the company had been working hard to deliver more services and had plans to introduce additional services later this year.
Ferntree Gully MP Nick Wakeling said cancellations on the Belgrave line had been a problem for many years.
“The important thing is, this is an ongoing issue and the Government needs to act,” he said.
“Connex can use as much rhetoric as they like; the reality is: talk to commuters stuck at Ferntree Gully station who are late for work.”
Mr Wakeling said the Brumby government had turned its back on eastern suburbs commuters.
“People expect the government to act,” he said.
A spokesman for Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the braking problems of the Siemens train fleet accounted for a large proportion of cancellations last year.
“The 12-month average of scheduled train services running is almost 99 per cent,” he said.
The spokesman said the government expected Connex to continue to improve reliability and punctuality.
Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said despite the Siemens train issues, Connex still needed to improve on performance.
“Even when the system’s running smoothly there are still issues with overcrowding,” he said.
“The more Connex and the State Government can do to boost services the better.”