operated as private railways in the 1850s, following the establishment of the government-owned Victorian Railways in 1858 Melbourne's suburban railway system has been state operated for the majority of its existence. In the 1920s Victorian Railways was the operator of the world's busiest railway station (Flinders Street) and one of the world's busiest railway networks. Following several high-profile collisions in the early 20th century, a number of network safety processes were implemented by the operator to improve passenger safety. The agency name was shortened to VicRail in the early 1980s and then, later in the decade, the metropolitan system became known as Metropolitan Transit ('The Met') and the regional system became known as V/Line. In preparation for privatisation the suburban system was split into Bayside Trains and Hillside Trains by the Kennett Ministry in 1997. Privatisation was completed in 1999 and M-Train and Connex Melbourne won the tender to operate Bayside, and Hillside trains, respectively. Following M>Train's inability to renegotiate financial arrangements, in 2004 Connex Melbourne assumed responsibility for the entire network. Current operations are provided by Metro Trains Melbourne, an MTR Corporation joint venture. Operator Timelines 1854–1860 - Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company 1854–1878 - Melbourne and Hobsons Bay Railway Company 1857–1862 - Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company 1858–1983 - Victorian Railways ('VicRail') 1983–1997 - Metropolitan Transit ('The Met') 1997–1999 - Bayside Trains (Caulfield and Northern groups) and Hillside Trains (Clifton Hill and Burnley groups, Showgrounds services) 1999–2004 - M>Train (formerly Bayside Trains) and Connex Melbourne (formerly Hillside Trains) 2004–2009 - Connex Melbourne 2009–present - Metro Trains Melbourne Fleet Current fleet The majority of the current suburban train fleet in Melbourne is owned by VicTrack, with the train operator (currently Metro Trains Melbourne) responsible for maintaining the fleet. All trains on the Melbourne suburban network are electric and driver-only operated. Guards on suburban trains were discontinued between 1993 and 1995. All trains are fitted with power-operated sliding doors which are closed by the driver, but opened by passengers. The doors of newer model HCMT, X'Trapolis and Siemens trains are opened electronically with a button, whilst Comeng trains are slid manually using handles. Trains are fitted with air conditioning, closed-circuit cameras, and emergency intercom systems. Trains are fixed into three car units and may operate alone or in pairs, except for the HCMT trains which run in singular seven car sets. Decommissioned fleet Lines Melbourne's suburban network includes 16 electrified