Metcard - The Stony Point Machines

The Stony Point service is currently (for some years now) operated by a diesel locomotive and dedicated MTH class carriages, usually two at a time but often with a third carriage locked out of use. It is a unique outer suburban line connecting with the electric train service at Frankston and running across the northern end of the Mornington peninsula to the hamlet of Stony Point, situated on the western side of Westernport Bay. There are approximately seven services each way daily. Many of the stations are at isolated locations, but considerable urban development has taken place between Frankston and Somerville. In more recent years, the few stations that remained opened for safeworking purposes have now been de-staffed. Because of these and other circumstances, it was considered more appropriate to install the machines on the carriages dedicated to the service. Strangely, the machines are coded "019" (the same code as trams) on the metal plate affixed to them, but the tickets themselves are prefixed "017". The machines differ from those fitted to the trams in being able to sell Daily, Off-Peak savers and 2 hour X 10 tickets. The machines were fitted during 1997 to the four MTH carriages on the Stony Point service. After this, they remained "out of service" until about the second week of November 1999, when they were placed on-line. Previously an on-board conductor sold the zonal paper tickets from the Met Fare System, amongst other duties. Since the 4th December 1999, the conductors no longer carry change for the Metcard machines, although they are still rostered on the services.

The following example is from machine number 019 2001 on-board MTH 102, along with both sides of the flyer advertising
"How to travel on the Stony Point line" and a photograph of a typical machine installation.



Machine 019 2001, Ticket 017 2001 (MTH 102)