Yea it makes total sense that those lines will do very well out of this, for sure. And, that line is probably better connected now. No going through the loop and all of that confusion. Instead there will be stops at the south and north ends of the city and one near carlton or the vic market (as well as one near the botanical gardens and albert park if anyone is interested in that) ... with easy exchanges for Southern Cross and other lines.

But overall, yea, it does seem to pose the question of what to do with the loop. If it becomes clear that the Sunbury/Pakenham line is doing well as a metro style line ... why not all of the others too right, as you say?

I don't know if it's a common suggestion ... but would it be viable to simply take other lines out of the loop and have the trains turn around and stick to their line with dedicated trains just going around the loop for particular access to other parts of the CBD? It does seem the loop has had its time and that its retirement couldn't come sooner. The dense inner city has expanded beyond the boundaries of the Hoddle grid with Southbank, Docklands and general inner city development. While the connection between Flinders and Southern Cross seems like a massive and aging bottle neck. I don't know if it could feasibly be taken down, but it sure as hell is holding the whole north bank of the Yarra back. Are there freight trains that rely on this connection?

So, maybe utility trains running Flinders - Parliament - Melb Cent - Flagstaff - Southern Cross back and forth, regularly enough that you never have to worry about the schedule ... with all of the other lines terminating wherever and turning around. Not quite a metro, but could it maybe improve efficiency?