Community
25 January, 2024
Works hindered rail performance all year
V/LINE ended an upgrade-impacted 2023 with continued uneven performances, as a new temporary timetable is put in place to support passengers with greater certainty.
The year was concluded with a reliability result of 96.9 per cent recorded in December, exceeding the reliability performance target for a second consecutive month.
A punctuality result of 59.8 per cent was recorded, which a V/Line spokesperson said was due to ongoing Track Force Protection measures and temporary speed restrictions in place as a safety measure for workers while work continues on stage two of the Warrnambool Line Upgrade.
Additional impacts to line performance during December was attributed to signalling issues caused by multiple severe weather events across the month, which also led to significant delays on the Warrnambool Line.
The Warrnambool line had been heavily impacted, with the monthly punctuality target of 92 per cent of services arriving on time within five minutes and 59 seconds not being reached during any month of 2023.
The reliability target of 96 per cent of services running each month was missed in only August, September and October.
To assist passengers in planning their journeys V/Line has introduced a temporary train timetable, which is now in place on weekdays until Friday, April 19.
Weekday trains to the city will depart up to six minutes earlier from Warrnambool, Sherwood Park and Terang stations.
Weekday trains from Southern Cross to Warrnambool will arrive approximately six minutes later.
“While crews continue to deliver critical upgrades, we’re giving passengers more certainty in planning their journeys with the introduction of a temporary timetable change on the Warrnambool Line,” the spokesperson said.
“There will be changes to arrival and departure times for some services and passengers are encouraged to check the timetable before they travel.”
In 2024 work will continue on stage two of the Warrnambool Line Upgrade, with crews upgrading train detection technology at more than 50 public level crossings to enable modern VLocity trains to travel on the line.
The upgrades will boost safety for road users and train passengers and make the crossings compatible with VLocity trains.
Current works being undertaken on the line include trenching, drainage and underboring, installing boom mast foundations, cable hauling, location box installation and maintenance access track construction.
Work is also progressing on the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Duplication, which includes station upgrades at South Geelong and Marshall, and level crossing removals at Fyans Street in South Geelong and Surf Coast Highway in the Geelong suburb of Grovedale.
Removing these congested level crossings will boost safety and increase reliability for trains on the line, and improve traffic flow for the tens of thousands of vehicles that use these busy level crossings daily.
The new temporary timetable in place can be downloaded via the V/Line website or the V/Line mobile app, and passengers are advised to check the temporary timetable when planning their travel.
Printed copies of the timetable are also available on request at staffed Warrnambool Line stations and the PTV Hub at Southern Cross Station.