Alamein Belgrave Glen Waverley Lilydale Cranbourne Pakenham Hurstbridge Mernda Craigieburn Sunbury Upfield Flemington Racecourse Frankston Werribee Williamstown Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the operator and brand name of train services on the electrified metropolitan rail network serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

[1][2] The network is owned by Public Transport Victoria who sublet the infrastructure and rolling stock to Metro Trains Melbourne, a joint venture between Hong Kong–based MTR Corporation (60%), John Holland Group (20%) and UGL Rail (20%).

[5] The railway track, infrastructure and rolling stock is owned by VicTrack on behalf of the State Government, and is leased to Public Transport Victoria which then sub-leases them to Metro Trains Melbourne.

[6] Metro Trains has faced criticism in the past and was voted the worst rail system in Australia in 2011.

[11] It was reported in 2013 that tens of thousands of passengers were missing out on compensation when Metro failed to meet monthly performance targets, either because they were not aware of their entitlements or didn't want the hassle of going through a complicated claims system.

As part of the 2008 Victorian Transport Plan, 38 six-car X'Trapolis EMUs were ordered, with the first of 19 trains built by Alstom in Italy arriving at the Newport Workshops on 24 August 2009.

[19] The trains were assembled at United Group's Ballarat North Workshops, under a state government requirement for a minimum of 40% local content.

By late March 2024, all the original RVB-3 horns were replaced with the newer Zöllner Makrofon 370 to comply with sound levels specified by the Australian Standard (AS 7532).

On weekday afternoons and weekends, Glen Waverley trains operate clockwise via the Loop, with Belgrave and Lilydale services.

The Northern group operates via the City Loop at all times except during Night Network (Saturday & Sundays Midnight - 5AM).

Services are operated to the Showgrounds platform during the Royal Melbourne Show every September, as well as during large events such as University Examinations.

During the Buckley Street Level Crossing Removal in 2018, replacement buses to Craigieburn departed Flemington Racecourse Station.

[18] The main responsibilities of Authorised Officers are to report ticketing and behavioural offences to the Victorian Department of Transport, provide customer information and help during special events.

In some circumstances, Authorised Officers may also perform arrests when aboard other vehicles operating under PTV or when on Department of Transport-owned premises, such as railway stations or train tracks.

The Code of Conduct states that an Authorised Officer may use discretion when reporting an alleged offender, and must supply their name and work address when asked.

Metro Trains Melbourne receives a small administration fee to cover the costs associated with employing Authorised Officers.

[37] Metro failed to meet Government set targets for punctuality in all of its first 9 months in operation, with almost 1 in 4 trains being late.

Metro has been criticised for meeting its punctuality benchmarks by skipping stations, most commonly the City Loop.

[41] In April 2012, Metro Trains acknowledged the practice of altering stopping condition of selected late-running trains (for example, stopping all station to express) in an attempt to make up lost time and meet the Operational Performance Regime set by the state government.

[42][43] A ministerial document showed that the state government raised concerns that some station skipping may not have been warranted.

[15][47] The operator was required to ensure 92% of trains ran on time rather than 88% under the previous contact, however the new contract still defined lateness as five minutes or more behind the timetable.

[15] In the first month of the contract Metro Trains failed to hit the target, and a 2021 report found that the operator had not reduced cancellations significantly in the first three years.

[48][49] Metro met its 92% punctuality requirement for two years, until July 2022 when the operator was forced to give a day of free travel to some users after missing the target by 0.4% that month.

[50] Large scale infrastructure projects such as Level Crossing Removal, and signalling upgrades have worked to improve the reliablility and punctuality of the network.

In addition, the Transport Integration Act establishes VicTrack which owns the public rail network and associated infrastructure.

[57] In November 2012, Metro launched the safety campaign Dumb Ways to Die which became a global viral video hit through sharing and social media.

[58] The campaign was leaked to the public several days early by the Fake Metro Trains parody Twitter account.