Premier Jacinta Allan has warned trespassing into a live rail zone is “potentially deadly”, after firefighters reportedly entered the Metro Tunnel without permission yesterday.
“Anyone who trespasses into a live rail operating environment is undertaking a potentially deadly set of actions,” she said, speaking at Anzac station minutes ago.
“A live rail operating environment is not a place to play games with. It is a place that you should always be putting safety first, which is why trespassing is taken very seriously onto the rail network, and … why I want to thank the operating staff for dealing with that very, very quickly.”
Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams (left) and Premier Jacinta Allan on Sunday.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Earlier this morning, ABC Radio Melbourne host Rafael Epstein asked Allan whether Fire Rescue Victoria people going into the tunnel sabotaged its opening yesterday.
“Let me be clear: it most certainly didn’t,” Allan said. “We saw … tens of thousands of people enjoy the opening of the Metro Tunnel.”
The tunnel received accreditation from the rail safety regulator “without qualification”, Allan said.
Epstein said some of the firefighters were detained by Metro staff.
Loading
“It is incredibly dangerous for the individuals who are doing it, and it is incredibly dangerous for the train drivers and other network staff, which is why anyone – it doesn’t matter who you are – if you are trespassing into a live rail environment, you will be dealt with,” Allan said.
We’ve contacted Metro Trains about this incident. A Fire Rescue Victoria spokeswoman said the service could not comment as “the investigation into this incident is ongoing”.
Passengers were unable to board one train at Anzac yesterday after a train overshot the platform, preventing the platform screen doors from opening. That came after a false fire alarm at the South Yarra entrance delayed services by about 25 minutes.
The United Firefighters Union has continued its campaign against the Allan government’s infrastructure program, claiming that Fire Services Victoria did not have suitable equipment or training to respond in the Metro Tunnel or the West Gate Tunnel toll road, which will open next month.
Allan and the Office of National Rail Safety Regulator have strongly rejected these claims, and the premier reiterated on Sunday that the project had received full accreditation from the regulator.