A Metro train driver high on ice who had just run through a stop signal was told by senior management to continue driving a train loaded with passengers, because Metro ruled it was more important to avoid a major train delay in the evening peak than to immediately stand him down.

The driver, who had more than 10 times the threshold for a positive reading of ice in his system, was also instructed by Metro management to drive the empty train 6.5 kilometres back up the line to be shunted after it had been taken out of service, before he was finally relieved of duty and then tested for drugs and alcohol.

The driver’s drug reading, which has been obtained by The Age, shows he had more than 1500 micrograms per litre of methamphetamine and amphetamine in his urine, which is more than 10 times the threshold for a positive reading. The reading was taken at Flinders Street Station more than 90 minutes after he passed a signal at danger.

Metro’s decision to leave the drug-affected driver in control of a train after he drove through a stop signal has been lashed by the Public Transport Users Association as a potential threat to public safety, and by the Rail Tram and Bus Union as a breach of safe working standards.

The Age revealed on Friday that the driver passed a signal at danger at 4.27pm on June 6, while driving between Ginifer and Albion stations on a Sunbury-bound train. He later tested positive to drugs and subsequently resigned during an investigation by Metro, which has not pursued legal action against him.