Commuters make alternate travel arrangements outside Kensington station. Credit:Michael Lallo

As trains ground to a halt in Melbourne on Thursday morning, commuters desperate for another way to work were shocked by Uber prices surging to more than five times the usual fare.

One commuter wanting to avoid the chaos as police locked down North Melbourne station to investigate a suspicious item was quoted $120 for a seven kilometre trip from Moonee Ponds to their office near Flinders Street Station.

A luxury Uber Select for the same trip would have cost $180.

One commuter stuck at Kensington station received an estimate of $68 to travel four kilometres to a CBD office.