General News
20 September, 2023
All options explored as line struggles
V/LINE has again delivered an inconsistent performance on the Warrnambool line as track upgrades continue to hinder punctuality performance.
V/LINE has again delivered an inconsistent performance on the Warrnambool line as track upgrades continue to hinder punctuality performance.
A reliability result of 95.9 per cent was recorded on the line through August, falling marginally short of the reliability target after eight consecutive months of meeting or exceeding 96 per cent.
Of the 246 services scheduled to operate on the line in August, 10 were cancelled due to trespassers on the track and train and infrastructure faults.
The punctuality result for the Warrnambool line in August fell to 48 per cent, the worstpunctuality performance result recorded this year.
A V/Line spokesperson said the delays were due to crews working at various points along the line on upgrades and improvements as part of stage two of the Warrnambool Line Upgrade.
“To ensure the safety of workers completing these important upgrades, Track Force Protection is in place at work locations, meaning trains have to slow down during their journey,” the spokesperson said.
“This is having an impact on the punctuality of Warrnambool line services and we thank passengers for their understanding when their service is delayed.
“These temporary speed restrictions enable trains to continue running while works are taking place - alternatively the line would need to be shut and coaches would replace train services for extended periods.
“The priority has been to ensure trains can continue to run while the works progress but we are reviewing the current arrangement to see if there are any improvements we can make to lift on-time
performance of Warrnambool Line trains while works are underway.”
The spokesperson thanked passengers for their patience despite the ongoing delays.
“Over the past month, V/Line’s Warrnambool line services fell just short of the reliability target of 96 per cent,” the V/Line spokesperson said.
“Safety is our number one priority and while workers are completing critical upgrades and improvements along the line, we thank passengers for their patience and understanding when there are delays to services.”