Melbourne commuters may face squeeze

Melbourne's long-suffering train commuters could soon be in for an even tighter
squeeze under plans by the city's new rail operator to double patronage.
Metro boss Andrew Lezala has revealed plans for a two-fold increase in rail
passengers over the next 10 years.
The system is already struggling to cope with demand, and the Victorian government
has fallen behind on its promise to deliver 38 new trains to ease the crush.
Mr Lezala told a parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday that a major expansion of train
services was needed.
"Our overall plan is to double patronage on the railway during the life of the
franchise, which requires a major increase in the system's capacity," he said.
More than 200 million train trips were taken last year, averaging about 400,000
every weekday.
Outside the inquiry, Mr Lezala said Metro would have to operate more services and
higher-capacity trains to cater for the passenger explosion.
He said the network would cope until 2015, and Metro would enter discussions with
the government next year to secure more trains beyond that date.
Victoria's Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula said he was open to discussions
with Metro about more trains, but investments the government had made, including the
38 new X'Trapolis trains, would "radically increase the capacity of the network".
By 2020, the government expects one fifth of all journeys to be taken on public
transport, double the current figure of about 10 per cent.
"In regards to the operator, I think it's a good thing that they have confidence in
themselves and they have high ambitions for the network and for the service that
they provide," Mr Pakula said.
"The fact they see patronage growing strongly is a sign to me as the minister that
they are serious about improving the quality of the service and the experience that
customers have."
Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) president Daniel Bowen said a doubling of
train travellers was an ambitious target.
He said there was capacity to grow patronage so long as the government expanded the
existing train fleet and invested in more off-peak services.
"It's clear that some of that growth would have to come outside peak hours. In peak
hours, arguably in the next few years, the infrastructure will be at capacity."
Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the government would "struggle
enormously" to double the network's capacity.
"I say good luck to the new operator," he said.