failing all hours

It's a little unfair that Melbourne's train system cops so much flak just because it fails to cope with peak hour services on weekdays.

Yes, the system is crap during the week, and yes, it's due to poor management by Connex, combined with the corruption of a Government that's completely in the pocket of the road lobby, but really, it's not just crap during peak hour... it's crap all week around!

Yes, 7 days a week, 20 hours a day, Melbourne's train network fails to meet the needs of the public, and makes no apology for it!

Out-of-peak services still operate like it's 1969, not 2009.

Today, for example, I decided to use the train to get to the cinema to see a movie. The film started at 11am; the train runs only once every 20 minutes on Saturday mornings. It was scheduled to depart Elsternwick station at 10:47, and arrive at North Brighton at 10:51, allowing just enough time to get to the cinema. The thought crossed my mind that I'd miss the start of the session if the train ran late, but, I reasoned, there's only one service every 20 minutes, and it's still morning... surely, the train couldn't be running that late in those circumstances. Naturally, Connex proved me wrong.

The 10:47 arrived at Elsternwick at 10:57, fully 10 minutes late, with no warning or explanation. By the time I disembarked from the train, the session had already commenced. Luckily, I only missed trailers, so no great harm done, but it does make you despair that you can ever rely on Connex to get you anywhere on time at any time of the day or night.

We all know that Connex and the State Government can't run services during peak periods, but it's hard to believe that those same lame excuses that they roll out also apply to off-peak times. Why don't we have 10-minutes services scheduled on weekends and evenings? This is not the 1960's; people don't stay home and watch tv after hours any more... we want to get out and do things, and we need a reliable, frequent transport service at all hours to do so.

I could go on and on about Melbourne's public transport failures... and I think I will... watch this space.