Our ghost train

THERE are some things that are so infrequently seen, that are so unreliably present, that their very existence is questioned.

Flying saucers, the Loch Ness monster, bunyips, leprechauns, fairies at the bottom of the garden, the Abominable Snowman — the list goes on.

We can now add to that list: the Geelong ghost train.

Or to be more specific, the 3.10 to South Geelong (not to be confused with the 3:10 to Yuma).

V/Line’s performance in our booming region has been patchy.

There is an obvious crunch between our growing population — thousands of whom commute daily to Melbourne — and the lack of extra rail lines running between Geelong and Melbourne’s west.

This is not something the regional rail operator can totally control, nor is it something that will be addressed overnight.

But the fact there are now more rail plans involving Geelong being hatched than for a very long time is cold comfort for the commuters regularly battling with a sub-optimal service.

They are highly unlikely to see the fruits of any of these implemented plans for years. Even if it all goes swimmingly and all levels of government get serious about equipping the state’s booming second biggest city with the infrastructure it needs, it will be years.

What V/Line should be able to control in the interim is punctuality and staff cohesion.

And yet the 3.10 to South Geelong that “disappears” on a weekly basis seems to be emblematic of the regional rail operator’s handle on what should be an excellent service for Geelong residents, following many reports in this newspaper about the toll staff sickness reaps on the service commuters get.

The very high rates of staff sickness seem like an industrial matter the State Government should sort out.

In the meantime, public transport boss and new V/Line chairman Jeroen Weimar would do well to reassure Geelong commuters he is willing to be a ghost (train) buster.