V/LINE LASHED
GEELONG passengers have suffered because of V/Line’s inability to properly prepare for the rollout of the Regional Rail Link, a damning audit has found.
The Victorian AuditorGeneral said the authority was caught off guard by the $3.65 billion project, which was expected to alleviate conflicts between metro and regional services.
“The full benefits of segregating the track from the metropolitan network were not achieved,” the report states, laying blame on the creation of a poor and untested timetable.
“V/Line was not prepared for the strong growth in patronage and the resulting increase in service demand following the opening of the RRL (in mid-2015).
“V/Line did not foresee this growth or fully understand the causes of its poor performance because it lacked the necessary capability.”
Significant overcrowding happened as passenger numbers on the Geelong line soared by 69 per cent within the first year.
The use was matched by a drop in performance, with punctuality in the southwestern corridor dropping to 78.3 per cent.
New stations at Wyndham Vale and Tarneit have led to Geelong having the highest rate of services reaching maximum capacity.
Data shows that all WaurnPounds-bound trains in the afternoon peak were overcrowded before they left Southern Cross station in March.
On the same route at the morning peak, all trains were full from Tarneit station.
Passengers are being told to prepare to spend more time standing, as V/Line moves towards more of a commuterstyle service.
Southwest travellers also had to deal with the highest percentage of speed restrictions last year, the AuditorGeneral’s report found.
“V/Line’s performance over the past 10 years has mostly fallen short of its targets and community expectations, despite infrastructure improvements and timetable changes,” the report said.
“However, it has recently started to turn this situation around and is better informed about the risks and challenges facing its operations.”
The investigation found V/ Line’s internal performance data was let down by unreliable or inconsistent monitoring, noting: ITS reported performance did not reflect passengers’ experience. THE absence of a load standard meant the AuditorGeneral could not assess the extent of any load breaches or whether overcrowding was happening. ITS customer satisfaction monitoring was inconsistent.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the report showed V/Line was “back on track after years of cuts and neglect” under the former government.
“We inherited an operator in crisis but our investment in trains, maintenance and the regional operator has turned that around,” Ms Allan said.
She pointed to an increase in services — including a further 69 that will be added on the Geelong line from August 27 — and investment in 87 new regional VLocity carriages.
Coalition public transport spokesman David Hodgett said regional commuters were being let down.
“If we want to manage Melbourne’s and Victoria’s population growth and ease the squeeze, we need to ensure regional Victoria has the infrastructure and opportunities it needs,” Mr Hodgett said.
COMMUTER’S COMMENT WAURN PONDS LOCAL ZARA WHITE (pictured) “If I was travelling up to Melbourne I’d probably be stuck standing.” “I’m looking forward to the duplication, because my train often stops at Marshall and I’m frequently 30 minutes late.”