From Thomastown to Uni: A Daily Journey in Data

Every weekday starts the same I walk out of my sharehouse near Thomastown, tap my Myki, and join the rush of students and workers boarding the train. Living this far from uni means my commute isn’t just about travel it’s a daily reminder of how much time and energy we spend just trying to keep up. This dashboard explores my experience as a regular commuter using real data from Melbourne’s metropolitan train system

As someone who relies on Thomastown Station every day to get to uni, these numbers are more than just stats they represent lives in motion. I start my day here, rain or shine, waiting for that train that takes me 40 minutes into the city.

Sometimes I wonder why my train feels packed even before we reach Reservoir. Turns out, Thomastown isn’t even in the top 10. Yet the strain is real the train fills up, delays stack, and we’re all just trying to make it through the day.

Morning trains are chaos. Everyone’s in a rush. The evening ride is quieter, but more draining after a long uni day. These two bars capture my energy levels too up in the morning, worn out by the end.

Conclusion

Commuting from Thomastown isn’t just part of my weekly routine it’s a clear reflection of how everyday travel experiences can be brought to life through data. While stations like Flinders Street and Southern Cross handle millions of entries, the data shows that even outer suburban stops like mine play a vital role in keeping Melbourne connected. By zooming into Thomastown’s passenger patterns across weekdays, weekends, and peak hours. I could see just how much movement happens even at a smaller stop.

This project helped me appreciate how something as ordinary as catching a train can be captured, measured, and visualised to tell a personal yet powerful story.

References

Data VIC. (2024). Annual metropolitan train station patronage – station entries (FY 2023–24) [Data set]. Victorian Government. https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/annual-metropolitan-train-station-patronage-station-entries