Fault call confusion
11 days and V/Line still silent over Lara level crossing defect
A MYSTERIOUS fault at a Lara level crossing has divided the suburb for an 11th day and looks set to inconvenience motorists well into next week.
V/Line say they are investigating an “asset fault” at the McIntyre Rd crossing, but when the Geelong Advertiser visited yesterday afternoon a traffic management worker said he had not seen a V/Line maintenance crew all week.
“Our crew has been (at the crossing) from 6am to 6pm each day this week and I haven’t seen one V/Line worker,” one traffic management worker said.
V/Line spokeswoman Cata- lina Filip said a fault at the Lara crossing was found in its detection infrastructure on May 30.
Despite repeated attempts from the Geelong Advertiser, V/Line has refused to elabor- ate on the exact cause of the fault at the crossing or say when it will reopen to traffic.
The crossing near Mill Rd seemed to be in working order on Friday, with passing trains triggering boom gates, bells and flashing lights.
The fault comes as train travellers are being told to brace for 45-minute delays on the Geelong and Warrnambool lines this weekend as V/ Line begins another round of maintenance.
Buses will replace every train on the Geelong and Warrnambool lines on June 10 and 11, while more than 100 V/ Line workers complete track works between Wyndham Vale and Waurn Ponds.
Traffic management crews closed the Lara crossing, near Mill Rd, on May 30 with V/ Line initially promising to reopen it on June 2.
Mill Rd resident Greg Woodhouse said the crossing was on a major route to Avalon, Werribee and Melbourne.
“I’ve never seen any trouble with that crossing in the 20 years I’ve lived in Lara.
“I haven’t seen much activity there this week, I’ve only seen the traffic management crews,” Mr Woodhouse said.
Ms Filip said closing the crossing to traffic was a precautionary measure. “We’re currently completing a thorough investigation and safety is our highest priority. This precautionary measure will remain in place until this investigation is completed.”
The Geelong Advertiser asked V/Line to make one of its engineers available to comment on the crossing but the request was denied.