The number of Metro trains bypassing the Altona loop has climbed for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Public Transport Victoria data released last week shows there were 122 bypasses from April to June, 53 more than for the equivalent period last year.
If a train skips the Altona loop, commuters at Seaholme, Westona and Altona stations may be waiting 22 minutes for the next train.
Metro spokeswoman Pauline O’Connor said the 122 bypasses last quarter represented 1.4 per cent of the 8448 scheduled services.
“We certainly appreciate that services which bypass the loop are an inconvenience to our customers,” she said.
“When services are running late it causes congestion and knock-on delays for those services and others behind them … to avoid creating further congestion and knock-on delays, a service may bypass the loop.
“We try to do this as little as possible and only to assist with late-running services.”
Altona Loop Group spokeswoman Jennifer Williams said commuters were abandoning trains because of the poor service.
“The service would have to be the most unreliable in Melbourne and has led to decreased patronage at Seaholme and Westona,” she said.
“Why would you use a service where a train may or may not go to your station as scheduled?
“People are tired of erratic services and of trains that dump them at Newport just because they [the trains] are running late.
“It is outrageous that Metro can get away with this practice and that successive governments have done nothing to stop the practice. The people of Altona have been abandoned so that a private company can make a profit at their expense. It’s not good enough.”
Changes to train timetables in 2011 reduced the Altona loop service to every 22 minutes with a change required at Newport station during off-peak times (9am-4.30pm).
The Altona Loop Group will hold a public meeting at Altona RSL on October 14 from 7pm to call on the government to restore direct train services between Altona and Flinders Street as promised before the last election.
