thribble: An open letter to Metro Trains

November 20, 2013

An open letter to Metro Trains

I arrived at Flinders Street to get the 1722 to obvious delays. The upfield line was advertised as next on platform 4. I waited. A Craigieburn line came and went. An Alamein. A Sunbury. Another Craigieburn. I asked the customer service rep when an upfield would arrive. Whilst talking to him the 1722 was cancelled, at around 1735, with an announcement that the 1742 would be delayed. When I complained he helpfully said to contact 'them' via 'their' website.

I got a tram and narrowly met (by 5 minutes) the deadline at daycare to pick my son up.
My complaints are as follows:
1. That Metro Trains consistently fail to update passengers with issues and explanations in a timely fashion, preventing us from making informed choices. This evening was no exception, with the cancellation being announced almost 15 minutes after the train was due.
2. That Metro Trains consistently treat the Upfield line as a optional service, running only 3 trains an hour at peak times and cancelling these to give priority to other lines.
3. That Metro Trains customer service representatives do not appear to realise that they work for Metro, referring to them as 'they', and that they are not even capable of (or empowered to make) an apology.

I would like:
1. A full, written apology for unacceptable service.
2. Written assurances that the Upfield line will be prioritised appropriately, considering the already woeful time tabling.
3. A written commitment to review peak hour time tabling for the Upfield line.

Yours

Disgruntled of Coburg

19:26 | Permalink

Good heavens. I'm halfway around the world, and change the train/station names, and you could be writing about Washington DC!!

I guess some things are, sadly, world-wide.

(Stumbled across your blog using the "next blog" button. One can find the most interesting things that way!)

Posted by CraftyGryphon | 1:50 pm