Melbourne Metro Tunnel as it happened: First weekday passengers travel on new services; Firefighters’ union responds to trespassing claims

Thank you for following our live coverage of the second day of Metro Tunnel services, as they faced their first weekday test.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a look at what we’ve been covering.

• Day two of the Metro Tunnel was a success, with no major faults reported at the time of closing this blog. The first train departed from West Footscray station at 10.01am, with services running every 20 minutes from 10am to 3pm on weekdays during the tunnel’s soft “summer start”.
• Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan addressed the media at Anzac station this morning, revealing more than 70,000 people rode the Metro Tunnel during its first day of operations on Sunday.
• Rail enthusiasts were out again today, although passenger numbers weren’t as strong as they were over the weekend.
• The premier warned trespassing into a live rail zone is “potentially deadly” after firefighters reportedly entered the Metro Tunnel without permission on Sunday.
• Metro Trains confirmed they referred the trespassing matter to Fire Rescue Victoria and Victoria Police for further investigation. The train network’s boss said it took about 25 minutes for its systems to recover after the incident.
• The United Firefighters Union said on-duty firefighters conducted a vital building inspection in part of the tunnel on Sunday.
• Our readers wrote in to share their thoughts about the Metro Tunnel, and most had positive things to say. Brendan thought the project was “game-changing” for Melbourne, and Alice said, “I can’t wait to ride in it”. But some people weren’t as thrilled. Richard wrote: “$5 billion over budget and late – that’s what all Victorians should think of it.”
• Our reporters put the Allan government’s claim of estimated station transfer times to the test, and discovered they can take a maximum of about one minute more than advertised.

Thank you again for joining us. We’ll bring you more Metro Tunnel news tomorrow, and you can catch up with our story collection of the opening of Melbourne’s biggest rail project in 40 years.

This is Cassandra Morgan, signing off.