Article: State Government yet to fix rail problems that caused chaos on 2008 ...

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State Government yet to fix rail problems that caused chaos on 2008 Oaks Day

State Government yet to fix rail problems that caused chaos on 2008 Oaks Day

    * From: Herald Sun
    * October 24, 2009 12:00AM

THE State Government still hasn't fixed the rail problems that caused chaos on last year's Oaks Day.

A review of the debacle identified a series of weak spots on the line to Flemington racecourse.

The review points the finger at poor maintenance.

More than 50,000 racegoers were left stranded when trains were cancelled at the end of the day.

The mayhem sealed the fate of dumped operator Connex.

The State Government says work has been done to minimise the risk of another shutdown and emergency teams will be in place to repair breakdowns if they occur.

But documents obtained by the State Opposition under Freedom of Information identify a number of flaws in the track and overhead lines - the same flaws that contributed to the Oaks Day debacle.

One factor was a points failure. But rail chiefs were told in May there was nothing wrong with the old-style mechanical points.

Connex spokeswoman Lanie Harris said there was no guarantee trains would run smoothly at next week's Flemington carnival.

would not be disrupted by train failure.

"We can't give a 100 per cent guarantee on any day of the year," Ms Harris said.

Oaks Day is the busiest day for Melbourne's train network, which has to cope with a normal work day as well as the tens of thousands who travel to the races, with trains running every four minutes at peak.

In addition to improved maintenance, there would be better communication with passengers in the event of a disruption, Ms Harris said.

Track repair crews will be posted at key locations, and train maintenance staff will be based at North Melbourne for quick fixes to keep the trains running.

Opposition spokesman on transport Terry Mulder said the Spring Racing Carnival's reputation suffered a battering last year

"Racegoers must hope that (Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky's shortsighted approach to rail maintenance ... does not result in further disruption akin to last year's fiasco."

The Public Transport Ombudsman's annual report shows that one racegoer demanded Connex reimburse her taxi fare, and won.

Connex wrote to the woman: "Upon review and in light of the receipts you provided and the distance you were obliged to travel, we can confirm that we are prepared to offer a once-off gesture of goodwill as a resolution to your concerns."

"As such, we would be happy to refund your taxi fare for 6 November 2008, and also offer you a Zone 1 and 2 adult daily ticket."

Connex said this was the only person reimbursed for the cost of taxi travel.

A spokesman for Ms Kosky said a number of improvements had been made to ensure the Oaks Day disaster does not happen again.

The "air gaps" in overhead wires had been re-located to less critical locations, spokesman Bill Kyriakopoulos said.

There had also been maintenance and testing of components including tracks, signals and overhead lines, he said.