Pakenham line

Pakenham
Pakenham
	A city-bound High Capacity Metro Train at Carnegie station.
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
System	Melbourne railway network
Status	Operational
Locale	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Predecessor	Princes Bridge – Richmond (1859–1860); Princes Bridge – South Yarra (1860–1879); Oakleigh – Pakenham (1877–1879); Dandenong ^ (1922–1954); ^ are electric services
First service	8 October 1877 as South Gippsland line
Current operator(s)	Metro Trains
Former operator(s)	Victorian Railways (VR) (1877–1974); VR as VicRail (1974–1983); MTA (The Met) (1983–1989); PTC (The Met) (1989–1998); Bayside Trains (1998–2000); M>Train (2000–2004); Connex Melbourne (2004–2009);
Route
Termini	Flinders Street; Pakenham
Stops	28 (including City Loop stations)
Distance travelled	63.368 km (39.375 mi)
Average journey time	1 hour 13 minutes (not via City Loop)
Service frequency	5–10 minutes weekdays peak; 20 minutes weekdays off-peak and weekend daytime; 20–30 minutes weekend nights; 60 minutes early weekend mornings; Double frequency daytime between Flinders Street and Dandenong in combination with Cranbourne line;
Line(s) used	Orbost
Technical
Rolling stock	HCMT
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	1500 V DC overhead
Track owner(s)	VicTrack
Route map
Route map

The Pakenham line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's longest metropolitan railway line at 57 kilometres (35 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Pakenham station in the south-east, serving 27 stations via the City Loop, South Yarra, Caulfield, Oakleigh, and Dandenong. The line operates for approximately 20 hours a day (from approximately 4:00 am to around midnight) with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hour, headways of up to 5 to 10 minutes are operated with services every 20 minutes during off-peak hours. Trains on the Pakenham line run with a seven-car formation operated by High Capacity Metro Trains.

Sections of the Pakenham line opened as early as 1859, with the line fully extended to Pakenham in October 1877. A limited number of stations were first opened, with infill stations progressively opened between 1879 and 2012. The line was built to connect Melbourne with the rural towns of Caulfield, Oakleigh, and Dandenong, amongst others. Significant growth has occurred since opening, with a plan to extend the Pakenham line one stop east to a new station in Pakenham East as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project. This extension is planned to open in 2024.

Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Pakenham line, significant improvements and upgrades have been made. A $15 billion upgrade of the corridor included the replacement of sleepers, the introduction of new signalling technology, the introduction of new rolling stock, the removal of all level crossings, and works associated with the Metro Tunnel project. These projects have improved the quality and safety of the line and will be completed by the opening of the Metro Tunnel in 2025.

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