AS eager commuters headed to Williams Landing train station on Sunday, they arrived to find the myki system out of order.
It meant that for more than an hour, passengers at the $110 million station couldn’t buy or top up myki cards at the counter or from the lone myki machine.
Minutes before the system crashed, Victorian Transport Minister Terry Mulder was talking up the Werribee line station, which will service Point Cook and future residents of Williams Landing.
”Wyndham is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, and this new station and bus network mean more transport options for over 32,000 Point Cook residents,” Mr Mulder said.
Two thousand commuters are expected to use the premium station each day, which includes a bus terminal, taxi rank, bike cage and access from both sides of the Princes Freeway via an overhead footbridge.
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Two existing bus routes have been replaced with five new local routes, increasing bus services from 697 to 2120 per week.
Protective service officers have also been assigned to Williams Landing and will patrol the station from 6pm until the last train.
But on Sunday, passengers and Metro staff said there were questions that remained unanswered.
The station has only 500 car spaces, which are likely to fill quickly in the morning peak.
And because Williams Landing falls within Zone 2, several commuters said it was likely locals would drive to nearby Laverton station, where they can pay the cheaper Zone 1 fare to the city.
Metro employees have already raised concerns there are no security cameras covering the station’s footbridge.
However, a spokeswoman for Mr Mulder said cameras would be installed ”in the coming days”.
Sections of the footbridge are protected by only a 1.5 metre fence.
With a drop of at least 10 metres, one Metro staff member told Fairfax Media that ”ticket inspectors wouldn’t want to be apprehending fare evaders on the bridge”.
But Mr Mulder’s spokeswoman said the fence complied with building codes and a higher fence would prevent ”passive surveillance”.
She also dismissed speculation that there were plans to close the nearby Aircraft Station, located about one kilometre away.
