Travellers afraid

By Melissa Grant and
ROWDY young males, drunks and drug users are a concern for many Pakenham line rail commuters, who are fearful of using night services.
Early results of a poll circulated by Bass MP Ken Smith has shown that personal safety and security are major concerns for travellers on the Pakenham line, with 62 per cent saying they feel unsafe and often afraid to travel by train, particularly at night.
Many of the first 100 commuters surveyed said young males travelling in groups were a major worry, with drunks, drug users, violence, assaults and vandalism also listed as concerns.
On a scale of one to 10, 70 per cent of respondents gave a security rating of less than five and 10 per cent gave it a zero.
“Obviously this is a big issue,” Mr Smith said.
“It is the right of every passenger to feel safe, and yet they do not. Some even indicated on their surveys that unless security improved, they would refuse to travel on the line.”
The survey results come less than a fortnight after police launched Operation Zero and Operation Trojan at Dandenong Station and along the Dandenong/Pakenham lines.
On Friday 19 June, the first day of Operation Zero, police made five arrests, gave two cautions and issued three penalty notices for alcohol and other behavioural offences.
Between 11am and 6pm, police searched 24 after narcotics sniffer dogs indicated the presence of drugs on them. Hours later, Operation Trojan led to seven people being arrested for drug and other offences and 11 penalty notices were issued to unruly train travellers.
Connex spokesman John Rees said the service provider was working with police to send a strong message to the public that anti-social behaviour on trains wouldn’t be tolerated.
During the police blitz, Connex authorised officers issued 110 infringement notices: 91 for ticket offences, 10 for concession offences and nine for behavioural offences.
Mr Smith said police blitzes had helped and hoped a strong police and security presence would continue to restore public confidence in the train system.
The results of Mr Smith’s survey also revealed that Pakenham line commuters were unhappy with the level of comfort on train services (61 per cent) and 74 per cent of respondents said hygiene was a problem, describing trains as dirty and smelly.
However, approval ratings for service reliability, staff service, fare pricing and station information were split down the middle.
Other results of Mr Smith’s survey to date also show that:
• Most rail commuters are aged between 26 and 55 (81 per cent)
• The main reasons for use were work (58 per cent), recreation (52 per cent) and education (26 per cent).
• Pakenham is the most used station and city stations the most popular destinations.
• Almost 30 per cent of those surveyed would use a station at Lakeside Pakenham.
• Most drove to a station to catch a train (73 per cent) so parking was a big issue, particularly its availability and security.