V/Line - articles discussion etc

[Gazza]

Probably even in Perth he'd see more about what not to do than what to do

Really?
I think the main negative I had there was many suburban bus stops just being a pole in the ground.

[somebody]

Probably even in Perth he'd see more about what not to do than what to do

Really?
I think the main negative I had there was many suburban bus stops just being a pole in the ground.

A lot of feeder routes are hourly, and evening rail frequencies are still 30 minutes.

[SurfRail]

Still a damn sight better than what we have.

[Jonas Jade]

They don't have more trains on order.  Can the network not fit more trains on it?  And they aren't thinking to raise prices?  Weird!

To Geelong, they charge $10.30 peak single or $68.50 weekly

Metcard/myki charges $7.60 daily for half the distance to Werribee.  Hmm, myki has no off peak.

Get rid of weeklies!!!  Or at least put up the price until V/Line comes under myki.

Myki does have the "Weekend Saver" though where trips on the weekend are $3.30ish to anywhere zone 1 or 2. This is available in paper form only as a "Sunday saver" (sunday only) aiui.

[somebody]

Still a damn sight better than what we have.

But is it better than Merseyside?

[Gazza]

Liverpool is more dense though isn't it?

[SurfRail]

Still a damn sight better than what we have.

But is it better than Merseyside?

There will be a lot of benefit in reviewing how other Australian cities work (or don't work).  His experience is goingto be valuable but I doubt it will be 100% translatable.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Commuters trapped on train for five hours as cable is cut

Commuters trapped on train for five hours as cable is cut
Megan Levy
April 4, 2012 - 9:13AM

Hundreds of frustrated V/Line passengers were stranded on board stationary trains for up to five hours last night when an underground fault cut power to the signalling system and brought the Geelong line to a grinding halt.

The rail operator this morning apologised for the ''terrible situation'' in which about 800 furious passengers who left the city at the start of peak-hour did not reach their destinations until after 10pm.

V-Line CEO Rob Barnett said a major fault occurred in an underground cable between Little River and Werribee, affecting all trains on the Geelong line.

The high-voltage cable, which supplies power to the signalling system, has been buried for 25 years and appeared to have suffered a break.

That was little comfort for about 800 passengers who were stuck on board peak-hour trains without food, unable to get off for hours on end. Thousands of other passengers were affected when trains on the Geelong line were cancelled throughout the evening.

Fairfax BusinessDay journalist Chris Zappone was on board the 5.21pm service from Southern Cross Station, which was due to arrive in Geelong at 6.12pm.

However that train came to a standstill between Werribee and Little River stations, one of six peak-hour trains to do so, and did not pull into the station until about 10pm.

''The sun went down while we were waiting there. It was pitch black and we were just waiting,'' Mr Zappone said.

''There was an eight-year-old girl sitting next to me who hadn't had any dinner. People were giving her food. It was bad.

''I was very lucky. I had a book that I had to finish. I just sat there and read it.

''I kept texting my wife, who said in the end 'I'm going to bed'.''

Passengers were prohibited from getting off trains that were stranded between stations, meaning they had no choice but to sit-out the delays.

The delays caused an angry backlash on social networking sites including Twitter, where one commuter quipped that it would have been faster to run home.

Others were devising plans to escape.

''The people on my stuck train on the @vline_geelong line are starting to discuss forcing doors open..lol I wanna see this happen!,'' tweeted Green Lantern 2814.

Another hungry passenger tweeted that she was happy to wait if only the train company would bring her food.
Mr Barnett told radio 3AW staff were still investigating how the cable broke.

''[It's a] terrible situation and we're really sorry,'' he said.

''For everyone that was impacted last night on our trains, we're of course offering compensation for that but we realise that that's little comfort for the many hours they spent on the train.''

Mr Barnett said compensation would be a free day's travel on V/Line services, which could be claimed on the V/Line website.

Mr Barnett said he expected there would be many tired commuters heading to work today.

''Hopefully their bosses are a bit forgiving being late to work or of having the day off,'' he said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/commuters-trapped-on-train-for-five-hours-as-cable-is-cut-20120404-1wbog.html

[#Metro]

Someone forgot to do maintainence!! 

[ozbob]

No redundancy ...

It is kind of incredible that they did not move to written authorities, we are talking about DMUs and loco-hauled trains here.  Appears the signalling went down.

The ability to adopt  base safe working procedures was probably lost when they went through the privatisation stage .. never recovered when reverted back to state.

I used to be fascinated as a youngster, with the elaborate safe working procedures carried out with staffs and so forth, on the weekly goods to Beech Forest and Weeaproinah (VR 2' 6" narrow gauge), only one train a week ...

Queensland Rail do regularly use written authorities when there are failures.

[somebody]

Written authorities, is that the same thing as "Train Orders"?

[ozbob]

Written authorities, is that the same thing as "Train Orders"?

More or less.  Say a signal has failed.  A train can be permitted to pass it after an authority is written out as directed by control.  Some sort of validation process and the train is then authorised to move forwards.

The line to Geelong is double main line.  Seems very odd that they would sit there for 5 hours ...  even limping along from section to section they would get there in a couple of hours.

[ozbob]

From the Geelong Advertiser click here!

Warning over rail fail pain

Warning over rail fail pain

Cameron Best   |  April 7th, 2012

THE state's new public transport regulatory body has given V/Line a rap over the knuckles for its handling of Tuesday's power failure which left thousands of Geelong train commuters stranded for up to five hours.

The debacle, caused by a failure of a high voltage underground power line which left the entire line from Werribee to Geelong paralysed, was the first crisis for the not-yet week-old Public Transport Victoria (PTV).

Chief executive Ian Dobbs told the Geelong Advertiser he was extremely disappointed with the delays experienced by 4250 V/Line passengers.

"Although the cause of the disruption was outside of V/Line's direct control, the concerning thing was the response to the situation was very poor and they know that," Mr Dobbs said.

"From our perspective, we are very keen in the future to make sure that when things do inevitably happen, they get dealt with efficiently, and we keep people up to date and that clearly didn't happen on Tuesday night."

While some trains made it into stations along the Geelong line following the power failure, three trains were left stranded between stations, with hundreds of passengers trapped on board for nearly five hours.

As late as Thursday afternoon, V/Line crews were still trying to locate the exact point along the line where the 25-year-old power cable failed, narrowing the area down to a 1km stretch near Little River.

It is not known whether the cable failed because of its age or whether it had been cut.

Mr Dobbs said the cable, which runs alongside the track, wasn't thought to be a critical piece of infrastructure.

"Twenty-five years is not a long time in the context of the industry we operate, we constantly have to update infrastructure but sometimes it's difficult to predict which parts of infrastructure are more vulnerable than others," he said.

"There are lessons to be learned from this, about how V/Line handles this situation in the future and provides timely and accurate information to people on site."

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Five-hour train wait was not necessary, V/Line concedes

Five-hour train wait was not necessary, V/Line concedes
April 9, 2012 - 10:12AM

V/Line has admitted that thousands of frustrated passengers trapped on stationary trains for up to five hours last week could have been ferried to nearby stations at lower speeds if the crisis had been handled differently.

The beleaguered rail operator's executive team met last week to examine its response to a situation that left peak-hour passengers stuck on board Geelong-line trains without food or water when an underground fault cut power to the signalling system on Tuesday.

Furious passengers contacted The Age to complain about V/Line's response to the situation, questioning why trains that came to a grinding halt in the middle of paddocks could not move a few hundred metres down the tracks to Little River station, where commuters could have organised their own way home.
Advertisement: Story continues below

One passenger reported that, after hours of waiting, he watched as four of his fellow commuters forced open the doors and "fled the train into the darkness".

"I presume they went to the Little River station [which] as it turned out, was only a short distance up the tracks," said Simon Morrison.

"To make trains sit still for 3 hours in 2012 is NOT acceptable."

Another passenger questioned: "Surely there has to be a back up plan? Things worked so much easier 20 years ago you would think someone could get out with a flag & guide us to the next platform."

A V/Line spokesman said the organisation's executive team determined that the trains could have moved to the next station at reduced speeds.

He said the power outage was caused by a major fault in an underground cable between Little River and Werribee, crippling the signalling system and the operation of the track points, or areas of track that allow V/Line to move trains from one track to another.

"There was a concern that if we began moving trains and the power was reinstated, the points would have reset and potentially damaged a train crossing over them," the spokesman said.

"The V/Line executive team had a meeting [last week] to determine what can be done better if a situation like this occurs again. What could have happened is the trains could have proceeded under a caution order where they travel at a speed of 25km/h, and the points are manually moved into the correct position by the driver.

"It's a slow manual process, but one that still allows trains to move."

The rail operator has apologised for the "terrible situation" last week and offered affected passengers two free days of travel on V/Line services.

That was little comfort for those caught up in last week's shambles, with some passengers discussing the need for a "V-line survival kit, comprised of a head torch (for walking beside the track after dark), food, water, and a pigeon for sending messages to loved ones when stranded for hours in an area out of mobile phone range".

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fivehour-train-wait-was-not-necessary-vline-concedes-20120409-1wk4g.html

You don't say??  <groan>

[#Metro]

You know, if 100 cars all broke down spontaneously on the motorway, every emergency and contingency crew within 50km would be down there towing, pronto.

These passengers should be compensated at $30 for each hour of time they lost, plus a buffering for transport and flow on effects.

So this would be $30/hour x 5 hours = $150 compo.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Stranded again: more rail chaos

Stranded again: more rail chaos
Henrietta Cook
April 10, 2012 - 4:42PM

Hundreds of V/Line passengers have been stranded for the second time in a week after trains on the Geelong line were stopped due to a signal fault.

Services were halted around 12.20pm after a V/Line control room detected a signal fault on the tracks between Werribee and Little River — the same section of track where a fault was detected last Tuesday.

The fault is unlikely to be repaired before today's peak hour, and buses have been called in to ferry passengers to and from Geelong while engineers and mechanics frantically work on the fault.
Advertisement: Story continues below

V/Line spokeswoman Clare Steele said it will take passengers an extra half an hour to get home on buses.
She said that 60 buses would arrive at Southern Cross station to replace the trains.

She said 200 passengers and six trains had already been affected but these figures were likely to increase.

"Fortunately no one is stranded on trains," she said. "It's a waiting game at this stage."

Last Tuesday about 800 V/Line passengers were stuck on stationary trains for up to five hours after an underground fault cut power to the signalling system on the Geelong line.

The commuters left the city at the start of peak hour but did not reach their destinations until after 10pm.

Yesterday V/Line admitted that the passengers trapped on stationary trains could have been ferried to nearby stations at lower speeds if the incident had been handled differently.

Ms Steele said today's fault was detected well before trains approached the affected section of track.

Two trains were stopped at Werribee and Geelong stations.

• VicRoads also reports that boom gates are stuck at several level crossings in the Geelong-Lara area.

Motorists can expect delays at the crossings at North Shore station, School Road, Corio, St Georges Road, North Shore, McLelland Avenue, Lara and Canterbury Road, Lara.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/stranded-again-more-rail-chaos-20120410-1wmi0.html

[ozbob]

Twitter

V/Line Geelong Line ‏ @vline_geelong

UPDATE: Due to trains and drivers being out of position, buses will replace all trains on the Geelong line until 11am Wed 11 April. #vline

=========================

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Geelong rail woes set to continue

Geelong rail woes set to continue
Andy Park
April 11, 2012

A teenager was struck and killed by a Ballarat-bound V/Line train last night.

More chaos on the Geelong line is expected this morning.

THE fault that put thousands of V/Line's Geelong line passengers on replacement buses during peak hour last night will affect commuters this morning, with up to 80 coaches to ferry people to the city.

V/Line issued a service update last night reading, ''Buses will replace all trains on the Geelong line until 11am [today].''

Adding to commuters' woes yesterday were five malfunctioning boom gates in the Geelong-Lara area. The signal fault, which was the same fault that resulted in 800 passengers being stranded aboard a stationary train for about five hours last week, occurred about 12.20pm yesterday.

V/Line spokeswoman Clare Steele said the same cable was responsible for this morning's continuing service cancellation and yesterday's boom-gate malfunction.

''The cable snapped and we got a fix for it by using a different transformer, which in turn broke,'' Ms Steele said.

V/Line last night would not guarantee the fault would be fixed for normal services to return for today's morning peak hour. ''Even if we are able to fix it overnight, all our trains won't be in position and that's why we are putting on more than 80 buses to Southern Cross Station,'' Ms Steele said.

''Passengers should add 20 to 30 minutes to their journey to allow for road traffic.''

At least another 80 buses replaced last night's outbound commute as engineers tried to fix the problem.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/geelong-rail-woes-set-to-continue-20120410-1wn27.html

[ozbob]

Channel 10 News: Train Pain

[Fares_Fair]

A Q/Line for Queensland... bring it on !

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Melbourne-Ballarat commuter squeeze

[ozbob]

From The Standard click here!

Rail trip back on the rails for schoolchildren

Rail trip back on the rails for schoolchildren
JONO PECH
13 Apr, 2012 04:00 AM
WARRNAMBOOL East Primary School pupils have been saved from a very long bus ride with their class excursion plans now back on track.

Last week The Standard published letters from some of the 120 pupils let down by passenger rail service V/Line, which claimed it could not accommodate the school on a Melbourne trip this month, despite confirming the booking.

A V/Line spokesman said only 80 seats were available to staff and pupils because rolling stock was not available to add extra seating capacity. However, after hearing the students' complaints, Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder yesterday intervened to ensure the school could travel to and from Southern Cross for the class trip.

Mr Mulder said although V/Line had a finite and varying number of seats available to group travellers, the rail service had agreed to make an exception to accommodate the school group of 120 students and 10 staff.

"I have asked V/Line to ensure that it carefully considers the likely passenger loadings on particular days and trains when assessing group travel applications," he said.

"There are agreed processes for group travel that all schools should follow, which includes contacting V/Line's group travel co-ordinator.

"However, on this occasion V/Line agrees that it should have the number of seats that the Warrnambool East school requires.

"The Coalition government wants to get schoolchildren into the public transport habit early in life."

Warrnambool East Primary School principal Lindy Sharp said she was delighted her students' voices had been heard.

"V/line provides marvellous opportunities for country students to experience the delights of train travel and for this we are grateful," she said.

"However, in this instance I feel V/Line underestimated the significance of this excursion for many of our students."

... "The Coalition government wants to get schoolchildren into the public transport habit early in life." ...

[ozbob]

ALP Vic News --> Terry Mulder missing in action on V/Line debacles

[ozbob]

From the Bendigo Advertiser click here!

Calls for increase to Bendigo rail service

Calls for increase to Bendigo rail service
BRETT WORTHINGTON
23 Apr, 2012 04:00 AM

VICTORIAN Opposition leader Daniel Andrews has used a trip to Castlemaine to call for more V/Line train services to the region.

Mr Andrews joined Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards to talk with train commuters at Castlemaine on Friday.

"This state budget is a chance for this government to deliver more carriages for commuters in Bendigo," Mr Andrews said.

"Commuters missed out last year when (Premier) Ted Baillieu failed to provide funding for even one additional V/Line carriage.

"The failure to buy new trains last year is already impacting on commuters who use the Bendigo V/Line services."

V/Line's latest annual report stated that patronage on the Bendigo line had increased 129 per cent in five years.

Some 3.36 million passengers used the Bendigo service during the 2010-11 financial year, up 6.7 per cent on the previous year.

The service experienced a greater percentage increase in patronage than the Geelong and Ballarat lines during the past five years.

Mr Andrews also used his trip to call on the Premier to rule out privatising V/Line services.

When asked what he thought of Mr Andrews' comments, Mr Baillieu failed to rule out privatising the service.

"Daniel Andrews can speculate all he wants but he is out of touch," he said.

Transport Minister Terry Mulder told the Bendigo Advertiser earlier this year that his government would consider new trains in its budget process.

He said the former government's removal of passing loops and reducing dual lines to single tracks had made expanding train services difficult.

Ms Edwards said residents were calling for better train services.

"I have received many complaints from commuters who are frustrated with

V/Line services and it's time this government started delivering," she said.

"Ted Baillieu promised Bendigo-line commuters he would improve train services but after 18 months passengers are still waiting for action."

[ozbob]

ALP News --> Baillieu rail fix now more than two years away - V/Line

[ozbob]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BrendanDonohoe7/status/196855006320799746[/tweet]

[ozbob]

Channel Nine News --> VLine commuters to get new trains

[ozbob]

From ABC News click here!

Councils see 'huge potential' in weekend rail services

Councils see 'huge potential' in weekend rail services

Posted April 30, 2012 13:04:40

Central Victorian councils are pushing for the State Government to introduce weekend train services from Maryborough to Ballarat.

The State Government committed $2 million for a feasibility study last year to consider passenger trains between Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, with stops at Meredith and Castlemaine.

Mayors and CEOs from the Central Highlands region met in Maryborough last week to discuss furthering their campaign.

The Central Goldfields Shire's Chris Meddows-Taylor says he knows the cost of rail infrastructure is high but weekend services are a good starting point.

"Certainly there's a lot of support and people see the benefit between connecting Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo by passenger rail," he said.

"Huge potential for the future."

[ozbob]

From the Courier click here!

Train users say overcrowding on the Ballarat to Melbourne line is getting worse

Train users say overcrowding on the Ballarat to Melbourne line is getting worse
BY PAT NOLAN
22 May, 2012 01:00 AM
TRAIN users say overcrowding on peak hour trains between Ballarat and Melbourne continues to get worse.

Some travellers on the 8.41am train to Melbourne were forced to stand in the aisles yesterday, unable to find seats on the train.

Passengers say it is a common occurrence that has become noticeably worse of late.

Regular commuter Ana Sangiau said she had noticed a surge in overcrowding of late.

She has been catching the train to Melbourne for six years and says the problem is worse than ever.

"The problem is getting worse and worse," she said.

"There never used to be a problem but I guess more people are deciding to commute these days which means there just aren't enough seats most of the time.

"You see how it can be a battle to get a seat."

Although most commuters say they are generally able to get a seat from the Ballarat station, Ballan and Bacchus Marsh travellers often have to sit in the aisles.

Last month, V/Line figures showed capacity for many morning services was at 100 per cent, with the majority at least 80 per cent full.

Afternoon return services from Melbourne were also stretched, with the 6.24pm train running at 100 per cent full.

Statistics from last week also showed the Ballarat line met both punctuality and reliability standards for the first time this year.

Public Transport Users Association regional spokesperson Paul Westcott said at the time that the Ballarat line was able to accommodate increased carriages, but the carriages didn't exist.

"Many of the trains can be lengthened but there isn't the infrastructure there to do so," he said.

V/Line spokesperson James Kelly refused to comment on the issue.

[ozbob]

The Latrobe Valley Express click here!

Gippsland rail line misses out

Gippsland rail line misses out
BY LOUIS NELSON
21 May, 2012 12:00 AM

GIPPSLAND is set to become one of the last remaining rail lines to share V/line services with metro trains, despite hosting the longest stretch of metro track in the Victorian network.

This comes as the service recorded the state's worst punctuality targets for more than 12 months running, with only 77.8 per cent of trains arriving at destinations within six minutes of scheduled times, according to performance figures released last Monday.

A spokesperson for V/Line said Gippsland was the most affected service in the state, with 50 per cent of delays directly attributable to congestion, and the service had not met performance targets since before 2006.

Patronage on the Gippsland line has increased 138 per cent over the last five years, faster than any other regional Victorian service.

Under the State Government's Regional Rail Link rail infrastructure upgrade, the Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat lines are currently undergoing track duplication in their metro sections, which after their scheduled 2016 completion, will make the Seymour and Gippsland lines the only remaining service having to share with metro trains.

State Member for Morwell Russell Northe said while the recent state budget funding announcements for extra V/Line carriages and maintenance works across the regional network could help to alleviate the congestion, he had been raising the issue "for some time now".

"To rectify that situation, it will require significant resources to improve vastly the performance and congestion issues," Mr Northe said. However he was unable to detail the likelihood of required funding in the near future.

In 2006 the Bracks Government had planned construction of a third track between Caulfield and Dandenong stations in its 'Meeting Our Transport Challenges' plan under $153 million in funding attached to the Dandenong Rail Corridor project; however, two years later the planned upgrades had all but disappeared, without a single mention in the 2008 Victorian Transport Plan.

Public Transport Users Association regional spokesperson Paul Wescott said due to the extended length of rail network which would need to be duplicated, the project had been "put in the 'too hard' basket"; however there were other options the government could consider.

"They wouldn't have to duplicate the whole line; they could do it in sections gradually to allow for overtaking," Mr Wescott said.

"They are doing that right now with the line from Melbourne to Albury by putting in long passing loops so trains can keep running and pass each other, but I wouldn't hold my breath for Gippsland."

Transport Minister Terry Mulder did not respond in time of going to print.

[ozbob]

From The Courier click here!

New website for late trains

New website for late trains
TOM MCILROY
01 Jun, 2012 12:21 PM
BALLARAT West MP Sharon Knight today launched a new website to allow angry V/Line commuters to record late trains.

www.lateagain.com.au invites Ballarat passengers to record details of any late services, including the reason given for the delay and the impact it has had on commuters.

"Each week commuters contact me about trains being late and to let me know how this affect their work and family life," Ms Knight said.

"I am concerned that the Baillieu Government just doesn't care about late trains — but I definitely do."

She encouraged passengers to visit the website to give information about late arrivals, and how the service disruptions affected them.

"I'll be sent an email with the details of the late train and will use this information to let Transport Minister Terry Mulder know about services to Ballarat."

Last month, official figures showed Ballarat had the best-performing short-distance regional train line during April with 99 per cent of trains running, of which 92.8 per cent were on time.

Ms Knight visited Ballarat Station this morning to meet passengers delayed on the 9.07 Southern Cross to Wendouree train.

V/Line spokesperson Daniel Moloney said he was concerned the website made public transport "a political football."

"This is a bit of public transport bashing and gives the false impression by that jumping in the car and driving to Melbourne you will always be on time," he said.

"It doesn't really add anything constructive at all to the debate, and both the current and former governments have done a great job in committing to the solution for commuters — the Regional Rail Link project."

The Courier has contacted Transport Minister Terry Mulder for comment.

==========

I am planning to travel by V/Line to Ballarat late next week, might be an opportunity to use the web site?  lol

--> http://www.lateagain.com.au/

[ozbob]

Twitter

PTUA ‏@ptua

Ch7: #VLine trains keep running out of fuel http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/vic/watch/29782688/v-line-fuel-embarassment/

[ozbob]

From the Geelong Advertiser click here!

VLine fined $1.7m

VLine fined $1.7m

Anthea Cannon   |  July 23rd, 2012

V/LINE has called on the State Government to do something meaningful about Geelong rail delays instead of persisting with "pointless" penalties.

The government-run operator was fined $1.7 million for trains that ran late between July 2011 and March 2012.

It is also on track for another hefty fine for the April to June quarter that was plagued by delays.

But V/Line communications manager Daniel Moloney said the penalty system was an "outdated concept" that was ultimately balanced out by government subsidies.

Mr Moloney said V/Line wanted to plan for the further transport needs of Geelong and continuing soaring patronage, not waste time on arbitrary figures.

"It's the government fining a government agency," he said.

"It's only good motivation if you're returning a profit to shareholders (like Metro).

"No one's being held responsible at all. We'd like a more accountable system that directly shows the type of delays.

"We were quick to say the April signal faults were our own, but 80-90 per cent are not.

"If we're stuck behind a Metro train that's running late, copping a penalty is crazy."

Mr Moloney said regular commuters would not be impressed seeing V/Line fined.

"It's not in any way going to help," he said.

"You can't afford to rip that much money out of V/Line - if anything we need more.

"What people want to see is improvements at Newport, Regional Rail Link, things that actually mean something and we wholeheartedly agree.

"Regional Rail Link will give us control of our own lines."

Public Transport Users Association Geelong conveyor Paul Westcott agreed the fines were a farce.

But he said he believed V/Line did not get fined for delays caused by Metro.

"It's made to look like something is happening, but it's moving money from one pocket into another," Mr Westcott said.

"There should be something to penalise poor service but I think people would prefer to see genuine efforts to fix the system, not the run-around."

A spokesman for Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said the Government and V/Line were working together to address the causes of delays, through signal inspections, the $200 million announced in the

Budget for rolling stock and, ultimately, the Regional Rail Link to ease congestion.

"The Coalition Government will also be building new railcar stabling sidings north of North Geelong station because of the importance that we place on connecting Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast residents with Southern Cross and beyond," he said.

The spokesman said the fine and bonus system was established in 1999 when the train and tram operators were franchised, but V/Line had reverted to government ownership in 2002.

"The principle remains that just as Metro and Yarra Trams are publicly accountable for their punctuality and reliability of their trains and trams, so should V/Line be," he said.

[ozbob]

Farce is right.  We managed to get the policy of 'fining' Queensland Rail stopped.  It took a segment on ABC Stateline to do it.  Same stupid situation in Victoria ..

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

V/Line, Metro train switch planned

V/Line, Metro train switch planned

Date August 2, 2012 Adam Carey

GIPPSLAND rail passengers, already lumbered with Victoria's tardiest line, would be forced to catch Metro trains between Pakenham and the city under a plan to relieve congestion on the busy Dandenong line.

All V/Line trains from Traralgon and Bairnsdale would terminate at Pakenham station on Melbourne's eastern fringe, under a plan put forward by Metro so it could run more suburban services. The plan, which is being considered by Public Transport Victoria, would require at least 2 million more passengers a year to squeeze onto Pakenham trains.

It would also make Gippsland rail users the only people in the state required to switch from V/Line to Metro to reach the city.

The Dandenong line is the most congested in Melbourne. It is used by Metro for trains to Pakenham and Cranbourne, by V/Line for trains to Gippsland, and for rail freight.

But it carries no more than 18 trains an hour, and has some of the city's most troublesome level crossings.

V/Line and Metro share about 60 kilometres of track between Pakenham and the city.

The congestion helps make the line V/Line's worst for train delays, with about 30 per cent of services arriving more than six minutes behind schedule.

V/Line says many of its trains are late because they get stuck behind Metro trains. A spokeswoman for PTV said the Dandenong line was ''operating at its limits, therefore every option to improve performance and get extra capacity is being considered''.

V/Line spokeswoman Clare Steele said the regional rail operator would be guided by the government.

But the government, reluctant to antagonise regional voters, said it had no plans to terminate V/Line trains at Pakenham.

''Country residents living on the Gippsland line have as much right to expect their trains to operate to and from Melbourne's CBD and busy junctions such as Caulfield and Dandenong as do people on the Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Seymour lines,'' said a spokesman for Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder.

There were about 2 million passenger trips on V/Line's Gippsland services last year.

At Berwick station, in Melbourne's east, where each day one V/Line train to Traralgon stops in each direction, commuters were twice left stranded last week when the train failed to stop.

Ms Steele said V/Line did not deliberately skip stations to make up time when running late, but that drivers sometimes forgot to stop at Berwick, or at other times deliberately bypassed it if the train was already overcrowded.

A regular V/Line traveller, Owen McKenzie, was one of 10 passengers at Berwick station who caught the 4.17pm train to Traralgon yesterday. He said that last week his journey home to Churchill, in the Latrobe Valley, had been delayed for an hour after the train failed to stop.

''The train just sort of went past the platform at about 20 or 30km/h, stopped for a bit, then kept going,'' Mr McKenzie said. ''It's pretty ordinary.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/vline-metro-train-switch-planned-20120801-23fim.html

[colinw]

So they want to force people off a train that takes 40-45 minutes Pakenham to SSS, and make them instead use an already crowded service that takes 70-80 minutes over the distance.

Are they being advised by a Queenslander or something? Maybe they should run a Pakenham Rail Bus.

Although what this really shows is that the Dandenong triplication WAS needed after all.

[ozbob]

It is not going happen terminating at Pakenham and all change.  They need to get serious about the track amplifications and grade separations ...

In the 1960s I can recall talking about the need to do something about Murrumbeena and Carnegie level crossings ..

The best solution would be a tunnel Caulfield through to Springvale, won't happen I guess. So they need to triplicate between Caulfield and Springvale.  This too has been talked about for years. There is generally room in the corridor, with some exceptions around the shopping centres.

The other thing is they generally ran more trains in the 1960s, subs, passenger trains and rail motors, freight and brown coal trains.  The branch lines were still in operation eg. Wonthaggi, Yarram, quite a lot east of Dandenong.

Sometimes when we wagged school we would hang around Hughesdale or somewhere like that and watch the trains  for the day .. 

[somebody]

I think this is an ambit claim to try to raise the profile of the triplication.

[ozbob]

I think this is an ambit claim to try to raise the profile of the triplication.

Yes, more than likely.  Pipe dreams eg the Metro tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield vs. real practical improvements ...

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Deluge causes rail risks