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Fact check: Has train punctuality improved under the Napthine Government?

Melbourne's trains have long been a pressure point for Victorian governments, Labor or Coalition, and this election is no different.

Elected in 2010 on promises to improve train services, upgrade stations and put public safety officers at every station, the Coalition Government is now campaigning for re-election on its public transport policy record.

In a TV ad spruiking the Government's achievements, Victorian Premier Denis Napthine saysVictoria is "back on track" with "improved train punctuality".

ABC Fact Check takes a look at the Coalition's record on metropolitan train punctuality, ahead of the state's November 29 election.


Are Melbourne's trains on time?


Melbourne's trains are run by Metro Trains Melbourne, under a contract with the Government that sets performance targets and allows for bonuses and financial penalties to encourage the private company to deliver on-time, reliable services.

The target for punctuality is 88 per cent of services arriving on-time, which is lower than in Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth, cities that all have punctuality targets of over 90 per cent.

Melbourne trains are also less punctual than those cities, with only Adelaide delivering fewer on-time services.

According to data published by Metro Trains, in October 2014 92.28 per cent of Metro train services ran "on time". A train is considered on time if it arrives at its destination less than 59 seconds before it's due and no later than 4 minutes and 59 seconds after it is due.

The monthly data is used to determine whether or not Metro is required to compensate commuters for failing to reach performance targets.

Public Transport Victoria (PTV) publishes annual data ontrain performance since 2002-03, showing that under Labor, punctuality declined from over 95 per cent in 2002-03 to 85 per cent in 2009-10. PTV's quarterly figures show that in the final full quarter of the Brumby Labor government, July to September 2010, 87.5 per cent of trains met the punctuality target.

Under the Coalition, punctuality improved to 89.9 per cent in 2011-12 and 92.1 per cent the following year, the last annual data available. In 2013-14, the quarterly data shows it ranged between 92.3 per cent and 94.2 per cent.

This chart shows the percentage of Melbourne metropolitan trains that have been on time since 2003, according to PTV's quarterly data. The two lines overlap due to the 'on time' measure changing from no later than 5 minutes and 59 seconds to 4 minutes and 59 seconds when Metro became the operator in November 2009.


Skipping stations


In June, Labor's transport spokeswoman, Jill Hennessy said part of the reason train punctuality has improved is because drivers are being directed to skip stations to speed up services. "Commuters know that services routinely skip stations and are slower due to timetabling changes. No amount of spin by Denis Napthine will hoodwink them about that," she said.

Reports in The Age, based on the paper records of train drivers, say that station skipping began in April 2012.

Fact Check asked Metro about the practice and whether it affects train punctuality. A spokeswoman said it did not "contribute to our delivery performance result".

"Altering a service to run express is only used to assist when recovering from a major disruption, or to avoid a knock-on effect that will ultimately lead to a major delay," Metro spokeswoman Larisa Tait said.

Metro provided Fact Check with data on the number of trains that miss stops. Between September 2012 and October 2014, Metro says less than half of 1 per cent of train services per month were altered to miss stations. No records on station skipping were available before September 2012.

Victoria's Public Transport Ombudsman adjudicates public complaints about public transport services in the state. The ombudsman's annual report for 2012-13, the most recent available, said 932 complaints were received about service delivery issues. Of those, 27 involved station skipping, compared with 162 concerning punctuality.

The verdict

With punctuality running at over 92 per cent across the Metro network, trains are more often on time now than under the previous Labor government.

There's no way to determine whether station skipping helped Metro improve punctuality before September 2012, but data since then shows that less than half of 1 per cent of all trains skipped stations to improve punctuality.

Dr Napthine's claim that train punctuality has improved under his Government checks out.

Sources

  • Denis Napthine, Coalition campaign ad

  • Trainline 2, Australian Government Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics

  • Metro Trains Melbourne

  • Public Transport Victoria performance reports

  • Labor press release on train punctuality