Search the archive

Find articles, original timetables, audit reports and archived Connex webpages.

History

• What was Connex Melbourne?A guide to the train operator, the two-franchise era and the network it inherited.
• From Hillside to MetroThe Connex era began with a divided network and ended with a new operator running it as one.
• How rail franchising workedWho ran the trains, who set the contract and why Melbourne moved to one metropolitan train franchise.
• Performance, reliability and heatHow to interpret punctuality and cancellations, and what the 2009 heatwave exposed.
• The 2004 takeoverHow the withdrawal of National Express led to one operator running Melbourne’s suburban trains.
• The 2009 handover to MetroFrom the August contract to the start of Metro Trains Melbourne on 30 November 2009.
• January 2009 heatwaveA closer look at one day of cancellations and the railway’s exposure to sustained high temperatures.

Network

• The network before and after 2004A comparison of the original Hillside routes and the services added when Connex took over M>Train.
• Stations and daily operationsHow to read period references to premium stations, central platforms and service information.
• Metcard and faresHow the zoned ticketing system worked in the Connex years and when myki reached suburban trains.
• The Stony Point branchThe diesel service beyond Frankston and the replacement of locomotive-hauled trains by Sprinters.

Fleet

• The Connex fleetSix fleet histories show what was inherited, what was ordered and what arrived with the M>Train takeover.
• Photographs from the Connex eraLocomotives, suburban trains, platforms and ticketing equipment in context.
• HitachiThe stainless-steel suburban fleet inherited by both sides of Melbourne’s franchise split.
• ComengOne train family, two refurbishment programmes and a compatibility problem after the merger.
• X’Trapolis 100The Alstom suburban train introduced on Connex’s original side of the network.
• Siemens NexasOrdered by the other franchise and inherited by Connex when the network was reunited.
• The 4D prototypeMelbourne’s experimental double-deck train and its place in the Hillside fleet allocation.

Documents

• Legacy and sourcesA reference desk for the archive, with government reports, timetable journals and notes on photographic reuse.
• Timetables and working documentsA dated reading list for tracing service changes from contemporary accounts.
• The original Connex websiteFind captures of the old operator website and understand what has survived.
• Archive catalogueReports, archived webpages and contemporary timetable coverage, organised by subject.
• Original Connex timetable PDFsFive public timetables retrieved from June 2005 captures of the original Connex website.

Original timetable records

• Sandringham · city to Sandringham, Sunday (PDF)Original Connex public timetable · June 2005 capture · Internet Archive
• Sandringham · Sandringham to city, weekdays (PDF)Original Connex public timetable · June 2005 capture · Internet Archive
• Werribee, Williamstown and Sydenham · from the city, weekdays (PDF)Original Connex public timetable · June 2005 capture · Internet Archive
• Stony Point · from the city via Frankston (PDF)Original Connex public timetable · June 2005 capture · Internet Archive
• Stony Point · towards the city via Frankston (PDF)Original Connex public timetable · June 2005 capture · Internet Archive

Reports and archived websites

• Victorian Auditor-General · Franchising Melbourne’s Train and Tram System (2005)Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Victorian Auditor-General · Maintaining Victoria’s Rail Infrastructure Assets (2007)Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Victorian Auditor-General · Public Transport Performance (2012)Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Victorian Auditor-General · Annual Financial Report audit, 2009–10Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Department of Transport · Annual Report 2011–12Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Australian Government case study · Adapting Melbourne’s metropolitan rail networkSource linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Victorian Auditor-General · Operational Effectiveness of the myki Ticketing System (2015)Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Essential Services Commission · Metropolitan rail access documentation (2009)Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Connex Melbourne · fleet and operating chronology (secondary reference)Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Electrical Safety Victoria · Victorian Electricity Supply Industry Resource ManualSource linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Australian Timetable Association · Table Talk, September 2006Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Australian Timetable Association · Table Talk, February 2008Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Australian Timetable Association · Table Talk, November 2008Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Australian Timetable Association · Table Talk, June 2009Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Australian Timetable Association · Table Talk, January 2010Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Melbourne on Transit · Internet history of Melbourne public transportSource linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Wayback Machine · Connex homepage, 19 October 2000Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Wayback Machine · Connex homepage, 11 November 2004Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Wayback Machine · Trip timetable, 31 October 2004Source linked from the Connex Melbourne archive
• Wayback Machine · Connex news, 2 January 2008 captureSource linked from the Connex Melbourne archive