Metro has designed an exciting new experience to improve the safety of youth around Melbourne’s train network, called TIMELINE. 

TIMELINE is a Virtual Reality (VR) safety experience that addresses high-risk behaviours across our network. Users wear VR goggles that place them in an immersive environment, allowing them to choose a character, make decisions, and see the outcomes of those decisions, such as taking shortcuts across railway tracks. 

Metro Community Education Manager Madelaine Tragas says TIMELINE recreates authentic, high-pressure scenarios that spotlight the real consequences that can result from lapses of judgement when using public transport. 

“Timeline is aimed at reducing incidents of young people acting dangerously around trains,” she said. 

“We wanted to bring the personalised nature of video games into an important safety message that will really resonate with teenagers.”  

The VR experience will be used by the Community Education team as an innovative engagement tool to connect with young people in priority trespass hotspot areas. They will take the technology to stations, schools, youth centres, shopping centres, and other community locations. 

TIMELINE was developed using expertise from across Metro Trains Melbourne but particularly leaning on the firsthand experience of our frontline staff. 

“Our frontline staff played a critical role in shaping the experience, sharing scenarios they have seen play out on our network to help us create the most authentic experience we could in a safe environment.”