Updated
Almost 4,000 new train, tram and bus services a week will be introduced in Melbourne, the Victorian Government has announced.
The 3,260 extra bus services, 470 new tram services and more than 200 train services will begin in the week starting July 27.
Victorian Transport Minister Terry Mulder said the improvements would target the most overcrowded lines.
"We are shortening up those breaks between trains, but we are looking at the areas where we know the overcrowding is occurring and where we know we're going to get massive growth," Mr Mulder told 774 ABC Melbourne.
Train frequency on the Dandenong line will increase to one service every 10 minutes on weekdays between the morning and afternoon peaks.
Cranbourne and Pakenham services will increase from once every half hour to once every 20 minutes during the same period.
"What we're dealing with at the moment is major capacity issues along that Cranbourne and Dandenong corridor. I think one in 10 people who use the metro service come in along that corridor," he said.
"When I came to office one of the first briefings I got, I was told along that corridor in the not too distant future, people would turn up at a train station and turn around and go back home again because they couldn't fit them on.
"So we're looking at the areas where we know we've got to do things and do things immediately."
The Minister said careful adjustments had to be made to allow for improvements across the network.
"When we add all these new services in we've got to go through and alter all of the bus routes as well, to get the bus timetables to tie in with the train timetables," he said.
"I was told along the (Frankston/Pakenham/Cranbourne) corridor, in the not too distant future, people would turn up at a train station and turn around and go back home again because they couldn't fit them on.
Victorian Transport Minister Terry Mulder
"It's about connectivity, it's about an integrated system, that's where we're heading."
The Minister said there would "be a bit of inconvenience" due to level crossings gates being down more often as a result of the extra train services.
"My advice is, it's not going to be a lot, between that peak, you've got two in the morning, two in the evening peak... but only putting in two extra services during that time, we don't expect it's going to have a major impact."
The Government will also introduce a new bus route in the Cranbourne East and major bus network changes in Brimbank, Port Phillip, Manningham and Bacchus Marsh.
A new tram route has been scheduled to begin, carrying passengers between Richmond's Victoria Gardens shopping centre and Fitzroy Street in St Kilda.
"Route 12, which is a brand new route, that will run from St Kilda down to Victoria Gardens and that will take around 90,000 passengers per week," Mr Mulder said.
Route 11, which runs from West Preston to the Docklands will be expanded from a part time service to a full time service.
Victoria's Public Transport Association spokesman Tony Morton said while he welcomed the new services they were "small steps" toward a better system.
"(We have) to keep making sure that the Government has its priorities right and we're actually doing something for the benefit of Melburnians in the future," Mr Morton said.
"In the future we're going to need a huge investment in public transport improvement just to keep Melbourne as a productive and a sustainable city actually functioning properly.
"Unfortunately, we've got a situation where the next big improvement to Melbourne's public transport appears to be a long way off on current State Government plans."
Topics: government-and-politics, rail-transport, transport, dandenong-3175, frankston-3199, preston-3072, richmond-3121, st-kilda-3182, melbourne-3000, pakenham-3810, cranbourne-3977
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