ANOTHER 40KM OF SAFETY BARRIERS

Travelling on freeway or railway, commuters were more whoa than go

CANCELLED trains and a crash on the West Gate threw Geelong commuters into peak hour chaos yesterday.

About 4pm a multi-vehicle crash and diesel spill closed all outbound lanes on the West Gate at Altona North, causing heavy delays, with VicRoads telling drivers to use alternate routes or take public transport if possible.

Polwarth MP Richard Riordan was caught in the snarl, tweeting an image of Geelongbound traffic with the caption: “No love on the Westgate (sic) this afternoon. Complete standstill on freeway. Over an hour to cross the bridge, bring on Geelong Fast Rail!”

While drivers were told to use public transport, Geelong line rail users were busy dealing with a flurry of cancelled services.

Almost a dozen service change announcements were issued for the Geelong line yesterday afternoon, including eight cancelled services and three delays caused by a trespasser on the tracks.

Stranded commuters took to social media to air their frustration, sharing images of V/Line services with commuters standing down the aisles.

“It’s just disgraceful: 3:10 service to South Geelong cancelled, 3:30 to Waurn Ponds is overcrowded and we have to catch 4:06 train. It’s the everyday drama.” Besmillah Mohabbat tweeted.

“Unsafe, unreliable and unacceptable to pay for this crap day after day. Depressing too.” Geelong Rail Fail tweeted.

The infamous 3.10pm Southern Cross to South Geelong ‘Ghost Train’ was one of the cancelled services yesterday, notching up its eighth cancellation this month. The train has disappeared from service at an average of four times a month since late last year — including seven times in the past fortnight, and 15 times in the past two months.

Between November 2017 and this month, the 3.10pm Southern Cross to South Geelong V/Line train has been cancelled or its route altered on 48 days.

WITH CHAD VAN ESTROP