The Pakenham line forms a relatively linear route from the Melbourne central business district to its terminus in Pakenham. The route is 57 kilometres (35 mi) long and is predominantly doubled tracked, however between Flinders Street and Richmond, the corridor is widened to 12 tracks, narrowing to six tracks between Richmond and South Yarra before again narrowing to four tracks between South Yarra and Caulfield. After Caulfield station, the corridor again narrows to two tracks for the rest of the route. The only underground section of the Pakenham line is in the City Loop, where the service stops at 3 underground stations. Exiting the city, the Pakenham line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal earthworks for most of the line. However, between South Yarra and Malvern, the rail corridor has been lowered into a cutting to eliminate level crossings, and between Malvern and Caulfield, the corridor has been raised on an embankment for the same reason. After Caulfield, the line formerly had numerous level crossings, however, all have now been removed between Caulfield and Dandenong as part of an elevated rail project, as well as some older bridges over and under roads. Remaining level crossings between Dandenong and Pakenham stations will be removed by 2025 under smaller level crossing removal works.

The line follows the same alignment as the Cranbourne line with the two services splitting onto different routes at Dandenong. The Pakenham line continues on its eastern alignment, whereas the Cranbourne line takes a southerly alignment towards its final destination of Cranbourne station. Most of the rail line goes through built-up suburbs and some industrial areas, but after Dandenong, the line passes through more open countryside, including open fields and farms, particularly after Beaconsfield. This outer portion of the line is one of Melbourne's main growth corridors, where farmland is being replaced with housing and commercial developments, leading to a rise in patronage.

The line serves 28 stations across 57 kilometres (35 mi) of track. The stations are a mix of elevated, lowered, underground, and ground level designs. Underground stations are present only in the City Loop, with the majority of elevated and lowered stations being constructed as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project. From 2025, services will cease to stop at Flinders Street, Southern Cross, Flagstaff, Melbourne Central, Parliament, Richmond and South Yarra stations due to the opening of the Metro Tunnel. From March-June 2024, Narre Warren and Pakenham stations were elevated as part of Level Crossing Removal Project. Once the Metro Tunnel has been constructed, the Pakenham and Cranbourne line will be routed through to Sunbury.

Station	Image	Accessibility	Opened	Terrain	Train connections	Other connections
Flinders Street		Yes—step free access	1854	Lowered	16 connections  Alamein line   Belgrave line   Craigieburn line   Cranbourne line   Flemington Racecourse line   Frankston line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Mernda line   Sandringham line   Sunbury line   Upfield line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Southern Cross			1859	Ground level	27 connections  Alamein line   Albury line   Ararat line   Ballarat line   Belgrave line   Bendigo line   Craigieburn line   Cranbourne line   Echuca line   Flemington Racecourse line   Geelong line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Maryborough line   Mernda line   NSW TrainLink Southern   Seymour line   Shepparton line   Sunbury line   Swan Hill line   The Overland   Upfield line   Warrnambool line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Flagstaff			1985	Underground	10 connections  Alamein line   Belgrave line   Craigieburn line   Cranbourne line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Mernda line   Sunbury line   Upfield line
Melbourne Central			1981
Parliament			1983
Richmond		No—steep ramp	1859	Elevated	8 connections  Alamein line   Belgrave line   Cranbourne line   Frankston line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Lilydale line   Sandringham line
South Yarra			1860	Lowered	3 connections  Cranbourne line   Frankston line   Sandringham line
Malvern			1879		2 connections  Cranbourne line   Frankston line
Caulfield				Ground level	3 connections  Cranbourne line   Frankston line   Gippsland line
Carnegie		Yes—step free access		Elevated	1 connection  Cranbourne line
Murrumbeena
Hughesdale			1925
Oakleigh			1877	Ground level
Huntingdale		No—steep ramp	1927
Clayton		Yes—step free access	1880	Elevated	2 connections  Cranbourne line   Gippsland line
Westall			1951	Ground level	1 connection  Cranbourne line
Springvale			1880	Lowered
Sandown Park		No—steep ramp	1888	Ground level
Noble Park		Yes—step free access	1913	Elevated
Yarraman		No—steep ramp	1976	Ground level
Dandenong			1877		2 connections  Cranbourne line   Gippsland line
Hallam		Yes—step free access	1880	Elevated
Narre Warren			1882	Ground level
Berwick			1877		1 connection  Gippsland line
Beaconsfield		No—steep ramp	1879
Officer		Yes—step free access	1881
Cardinia Road			2012
Pakenham			1877		1 connection  Gippsland line
East Pakenham			2024

Station	Accessibility	Expected opening	Terrain	Planned train connections	Other planned connections	Notes
Arden	Yes - Step Free Access	2025	Underground	2 connections  Cranbourne line   Sunbury line		Opening as part of the Metro tunnel project in 2025
Parkville
State Library
Town Hall
Anzac

Services on the Pakenham line operates from approximately 4:00 am to around 11:30 daily. In general, during peak hours, train frequency is 5 minutes on the Dandenong corridor (combined with the Cranbourne line) and 10 minutes in the AM peak on the Pakenham Line while during non-peak hours the frequency is reduced to 20–30 minutes throughout the entire route. Services run anticlockwise through the City Loop, and from 2025, Pakenham line services will cease to stop at South Yarra, Richmond, and all City Loop stations when trains are rerouted through the Metro Tunnel upon opening. On Friday nights and weekends, services run 24 hours a day, with 60 minute frequencies available outside of normal operating hours. Since 13 February 2022, some off-peak daytime Pakenham and Cranbourne line services stop at Malvern station, running express between South Yarra and Malvern stations.

Train services on the Pakenham line are also subjected to maintenance and renewal works, usually on selected Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle bus services are provided throughout the duration of works for affected commuters.

Legend — Station status

• ◼ Premium Station – Station staffed from first to last train
• ◻ Host Station – Usually staffed during morning peak, however this can vary for different stations on the network.

Legend — Stopping patterns
Some services do not operate via the City Loop

• ● – All trains stop
• ◐ – Some services do not stop
• ▲ – Only inbound trains stop (trains operate counter-clockwise through the city loop all day)
• ▼ – Only outbound trains stop
• | – Trains pass and do not stop

The Pakenham line has had a total of 7 operators since its opening in 1877. The majority of operations throughout its history have been government run: from its first service in 1877 until the 1999 privatisation of Melbourne's rail network, four different government operators have run the line. These operators, Victorian Railways, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Public Transport Corporation and Bayside Trains have a combined operational length of 122 years.

Bayside Trains was privatised in August 1999 and later rebranded M>Train. In 2002, M>Train was placed into receivership and the state government regained ownership of the line, with KPMG appointed as receivers to operate M>Train on behalf of the state government. Two years later, rival train operator Connex Melbourne took over the M>Train operations including the Pakenham line. Metro Trains Melbourne, the current private operator, then took over the operations in 2009. The private operators have had a combined operational period of 25 years.

The Pakenham line uses a fleet of electric multiple unit (EMU) High Capacity Metro Trains operating in a seven-car configuration, with three doors per side on each carriage and can accommodate of up to 1,380 passengers in each train-set. Shared with the Cranbourne, Sunbury, and Airport lines, the rolling stock will consist of 70 High Capacity Metro Trains (HCMT), once fully delivered. They are built in Changchun, China, with final assembly occurring in Newport, Melbourne, by Evolution Rail, a consortium composed of CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, Downer Rail and Plenary Group.

Previously, the Pakenham line was served by a fleet of Comeng and Siemens Nexas trains. The oldest Comeng trains (stage 1 and some stage 2) have been retired and scrapped as part of the HCMT introduction, however, some of these trains have been displaced onto other Melbourne metropolitan lines. In comparison, the Siemens Nexas trains have not been retired, instead being moved onto other lines to replace older Comeng sets. Since the end of 2022, the Pakenham line is almost exclusively operated by High Capacity Metro Trains.

Alongside the passenger trains, Pakenham line tracks and equipment are maintained by a fleet of engineering trains. The four types of engineering trains are: the shunting train; designed for moving trains along non-electrified corridors and for transporting other maintenance locomotives, for track evaluation; designed for evaluating track and its condition, the overhead inspection train; designed for overhead wiring inspection, and the infrastructure evaluation carriage designed for general infrastructure evaluation. Most of these trains are repurposed locomotives previously used by V/Line, Metro Trains, and the Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

This section needs expansion with: information about the different types of depots (driver, maintenance, and stabling) if the article could qualify for FA status. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023)

Rolling stock on the Pakenham line is primarily served by the Pakenham East Depot located in the outer suburb of Pakenham East. This depot was built in 2018 to exclusively house and maintain 30 brand new High Capacity Metro Trains while they are out of service. Built by evolution rail the 118 hectares (290 acres) depot consists of a stabbling yard and an advanced driver training simulator.

The depot is one of the most sustainable train maintenance regimes in Australia with:

• Energy savings of 23%
• Water savings of 46%
• 77% of water recycled
• 13% enchanment of biodiversity
• 115,000 kilograms (254,000 lb) of carbon saved every year

Since the mid to late 20th century, the Pakenham line has used a fixed block three position signalling system designed for lower frequencies and less services. However, the ageing system had undermined reliability due to the presence of system faults and limited frequencies, requiring the Pakenham, Cranbourne, and Sunbury lines to upgrade their signalling system. Since 2021, high-capacity signalling (HCS) has been rolling out on the Pakenham, Cranbourne, and Sunbury lines, allowing trains to safely run closer together and run more frequently. The new system is being delivered by CPB Contractors and Bombardier Transportation under the Rail Systems Alliance. These works valued at $1 billion includes the roll-out of 55 kilometres (34 mi) of HCS and communications systems on the aforementioned lines, allowing an increase in reliability and frequency. The line will be equipped with Bombardier’s CityFlo 650 communications-based train control system, that will enable operation at 2–3 minute headways.

The upgrading works were completed in phases from 2021. With the upgraded signalling system, trains are now able to run closer to each other. The new system was tested on the Mernda line and a section of the Cranbourne line before being fully implemented on the lines. In March 2022, the Pakenham line underwent further testing of high-tech signalling equipment, to ensure the new trains and signalling system can safely run alongside older-generation trains—including freight and V/Line trains—and the existing signalling system.

All premium railway stations on the Pakenham line have customer service centres that are open from the first to the last service. Host stations on the line also have customer service centres, however these are only staffed for a few hours during the morning peak.

At the service centres, passengers can:

• Buy tickets (Myki)
• Pick up timetables
• Collect change for vending machines and payphones

In compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, all stations that are new-built or rebuilt are fully accessible and comply with these guidelines. The majority of stations on the corridor are fully accessible, however, there are some stations that haven't been upgraded to meet these guidelines. These stations do feature ramps, however, they have a gradient greater than 1 in 14. Stations that are fully accessible feature ramps that have a gradient less than 1 in 14, have at-grade paths, or feature lifts. These stations typically also feature tactile boarding indicators, independent boarding ramps, wheelchair accessible myki barriers, hearing loops, and widened paths.

Projects improving station accessibility have included the Level Crossing Removal Project that involves station rebuilds and upgrades, individual station upgrade projects, and associated Metro Tunnel works. These works have made significant strides in improving network accessibility, with more than 60% of Pakenham line stations classed as fully accessible. This number is expected to grow within the coming years, as a network restructure associated with the opening of the Metro Tunnel is completed and level crossing removal works are completed on the corridor by 2025.

Most stations on the Pakenham line are equipped with passenger information displays which provide real time departure information. These displays are owned by Public Transport Victoria and are managed by Metro Trains Melbourne. With the exception of the five central stations, most stations on the network are equipped with 2 line LED displays. However, since 2016 these are being replaced by flat screen displays that additionally show every station the train will serve.

The 2012 Network Development Plan identified the need for a north-south tunnel connecting the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines to the Sunbury line. In 2017, the Metro Tunnel began construction, involving the construction of five new underground stations, twin 9-kilometre (5.6 mi) tunnels, and other associated infrastructure improvements. Leaving the existing Pakenham line alignment before South Yarra station, new stations will be built at Anzac, Town Hall (with connections to Flinders Street), State Library (with connections to Melbourne Central), Parkville, and Arden, before continuing onto the Sunbury line. These works will be completed by 2025, and upon completion, will create a singular rail line from Cranbourne and Pakenham to Sunbury and Melbourne Airport (from 2029).

The Melbourne Airport rail link will involve the construction of a 27-kilometre (17 mi) line from Sunshine to a new station at Melbourne Airport. Connected via the Metro Tunnel, services will operate from the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines through the tunnel before splitting off at Sunshine to either Sunbury or Melbourne Airport. Construction of the line will involve the renovation of Sunshine station to allow for additional platforms, construction of new track, and the addition of two new stations at Keilor East and Melbourne Airport. Construction started in 2022 with services expected to begin in 2029.

The Level Crossing Removal Project has announced the removal of all 22 remaining level crossings on the Pakenham line, to be completed in stages from 2018 to 2025. All level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong were removed in 2018 as part of the Caulfield to Dandenong skyrail project. This included the removal of nine level crossings and the reconstruction of five elevated stations along the corridor. The second phase of removals involves removing individual crossings along the corridor through a variety of methods by 2025. Some crossings have been removed through elevating the rail corridor, some by lowering or raising the road, with other crossings being removed by closing the crossing off from motor traffic. These projects will leave the entirety of the Pakenham line level crossing free by 2025, with projects on the Sunbury line leaving the entire Sunshine-Dandenong corridor crossing free by the opening of the Metro Tunnel in 2025.

• Pakenham line timetable
• Network map
• Media related to Pakenham railway line at Wikimedia Commons