Following yesterday’s news that the endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly will prevent the planned train track duplication between Montmorency and Eltham, the under-fire insect has responded by offering to ferry public transport users between the two suburbs on their daily commute. The endangered species initially made headlines late yesterday after it was revealed that the planned destruction of its habitat would not go ahead, scuttling plans to finally duplicate key sections of the Hurstbridge Line.

Despite assurances that the change of plans would not impact the promised improvements to the Hurstbridge Line services, the Eltham Copper Butterfly is insisting on offering a world-first ferry service, in which a team of insects would tow a passenger vehicle through the sky. Potentially quicker than our city’s existing train network, the new service is expected to improve butterfly-to-human relations, which reportedly hit an all-time low after yesterday’s announcement.

As seen in the artist’s impression above, the insect-powered service would use cables to attach train carriages to the strongest butterflies from the flutter, and commuters would then take flight between Eltham and Montmorency. This would obviously allow trains to travel in both directions, as per the initial plans for the track duplication.

While no official confirmation has been announced regarding this bold new concept, butterflies are renowned for being true to their word. Which we are happy to openly question, considering most of them have a lifespan of two weeks, meaning it’s quite difficult to prove their commitment to long-term plans.

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