Nearly 500 drivers are now trained and ready to take passengers through the Metro Tunnel and its 5 new stations. This is the critical number of drivers needed for the opening of the tunnel.
Eventually this number will rise to more than 1,000 drivers – the majority of drivers on the metropolitan network.
Amongst the cohort are 100 new drivers who have undergone an intensive 44-week training program to ensure they’re ready to operate the High Capacity Metro Trains that will run through the Metro Tunnel.
Training included a mix of classroom, practical and on-the-job training, where the trainee drivers were accompanied by a trainer while operating passenger services.
As with any new infrastructure, extra training has also been provided for qualified drivers to allow them to drive in the new tunnels. This includes training on the project’s next-generation signalling system and the use of the Victorian-first platform screen doors.
Station staff are also being trained in the many processes and procedures that will be needed to operate the new stations safely as part of the project’s trial operations phase.
More than 200 station staff, including Station Masters, Senior Station Officers, Station Officers and Station Assistants, will work across the five new stations – Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac – when the Metro Tunnel opens later this year.