By AIDAN KNIGHT

IN an effort to promote the Metro Tunnel due for completion this December, the state government has announced free public transport on weekends for all of summer.

Starting the day of the tunnel opening until February 1, 2026, every bus, metro and V/Line train, every tram, for every passenger will be free, “from the first service each Saturday to the last service each Sunday”, as stated in a state government’ press release. Myki barriers at stations like Flinders Street will be left open on these weekends and passengers will not be required to tap on for every service, as a gesture to make up for frequent disruptions on the PTV system since works commenced on the project in early 2017.

“We’re saying thank you Victoria – with free PT every weekend this summer,” Premier Jacinta Allan said from the new State Library Station underneath Swanston St.

“Everyone, everywhere, every weekend, free until Feb 1. The biggest free transport bonanza in Victoria’s history.”

State Library is one of five new stations as part of the project, the others being:

Arden Station (North Melbourne);

Parkville Station;

Town Hall Station, and;

Anzac Station (Shrine of Remembrance).

However, with no exact date set for the opening of the tunnel, as the national rail safety body has not assessed the project, meaning the actual free travel period could turn out to be closer to one month than the promised two, should any delay occur.

Of all routes affected by the works, the Cranbourne, Sunbury and Pakenham lines will benefit the most from the completion of the project, seeing services at each station “every three or four minutes during peak periods”, under a massive timetable reshuffle the state government is ominously dubbing “the big switch”. The latter of which is most relevant to Gippslanders, as the Traralgon/Bairnsdale lines share some of the Pakenham corridor, but it is unclear if V/Line services will see the same long-term benefit as their metro counterparts from the upgrades.

With that said, the entire public transport network will receive brand new timetables in February, to accommodate these increased frequencies on select lines. This means the newest timetable, made effective September 14 as part of Victoria’s Big Build project, will only be in use for five months. Once the new timetables come into effect, users of the Gippsland Line will be able to access to the metro tunnel by switching at Pakenham.

“It is the most complex infrastructure project in our state’s history,” Ms Allan said. Doubling the size of Melbourne’s underground, “as we move towards becoming Australian’s biggest city”, according to the government, “by creating a second rail line under the city, the Metro tunnel will ease congestion” supposedly right across the entire PTV rail network.

The Metro Tunnel, a project totalling $15.5 billion, that was conceived under the Andrews government in 2015, is thought by the current Premier to “cut congestion and get you to work, uni and home sooner.”

This announcement comes four months after the state government declared any child under 18 will travel free from January 1, 2026. Seniors card holders will receive free travel on weekends universally, while full fare and other concessions will return to paying tickets past February 1. This policy comes under the state government’s cost-of-living relief in the state budget. Seniors card holders can already travel for free on weekends across two “neighbouring zones”, which includes anywhere within metropolitan Melbourne, and from Morwell to Traralgon or Macedon to Woodend in regional Victoria.

ELSEWHERE a V/Line coach took a surprisingly off-road detour in South Gippsland earlier this month. The 9.02am service to Yarram required emergency service assistance, after coming off an embankment on Monday, October 6 around midday.

After turning a corner the vehicle experienced wheellock, causing it to slide off the sealed road before it was stopped by trees 2.5 metres off the main drag, one limb of which pierced the front windshield.

None of the 12 passengers or the driver were injured.