Australia's rail safety watchdog is looking into allegations raised in parliament by a federal MP that Metro's track maintenance standards are so shoddy it is putting public safety at risk.

Metro can only do as much maintenance as the incumbent government is prepared to fund.  Metro has the responsibility of running the services and I believe they get an "allowance" or budget for maintenance.  

I do notice a lot of timber still on the network in Melbourne which is not the case in places like Sydney.