Metro Trains Melbourne
A High Capacity Metro Train departing Carnegie railway station in June 2021 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Fleet | 226 six-carriage trains |
| Stations operated | 222 |
| Parent company |
|
| Dates of operation | 30 November 2009– |
| Predecessor | Connex Melbourne |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Victorian broad gauge |
| Electrification | 1,500 V DC from overhead catenary (except unelectrified Stony Point) |
| Length | 430 km (270 mi) |
| Track length | 998 km (620 mi) |
| Other | |
| Website | metrotrains |
| Melbourne rail network |
|---|
| Metropolitan lines |
|
Alamein Belgrave Glen Waverley Lilydale Craigieburn Sunbury Upfield Flemington Racecourse Frankston Werribee Williamstown Sandringham |
| Non-electrified metropolitan lines |
| Stony Point Deer Park–West Werribee Melton |
| Under construction |
| Metro Tunnel Suburban Rail Loop Melbourne Airport Level Crossing Removal Project |
| Other |
| City Loop • List of stations • List of closed stations • Freight railways • Proposed extensions |
Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the operator and brand name of train services on the electrified metropolitan rail network serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest urban rail network in Australia, with 17 lines and 222 stations across 405 km (252 mi) of railways, and the second busiest network in Australia, with a patronage of 99.5 million as of 2021–2022.
The network is owned by Public Transport Victoria who sublet the infrastructure and rolling stock to Metro Trains Melbourne, a joint venture between Hong Kong–based MTR Corporation (60%), John Holland Group (20%) and UGL Rail (20%). The three constituent companies are also partners in the Metro Trains Sydney joint venture, which has operated the Sydney Metro network since 2019. Metro Trains Melbourne took over as operator from Connex in 2009.
Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 220 six-car train sets on 965 kilometres (600 mi) of track. There are sixteen regular service rail lines and one special events railway line. Metro Trains Melbourne is also responsible for 219 railway stations and employs a workforce of 3,500 including train drivers, mechanical and electrical engineers, network operations specialists and station officers.
The railway track, infrastructure and rolling stock is owned by VicTrack on behalf of the State Government, and is leased to Public Transport Victoria which then sub-leases them to Metro Trains Melbourne. The State Government now also owns the name 'Metro,' and it will likely stay even if there is a change of operators. Metro Trains has faced criticism in the past and was voted the worst rail system in Australia in 2011. However, the operation, punctuality and consistency of the network has greatly improved since 2014 with level crossing removals, target benchmarks for trains and more frequent trains.