Revamp shakes up rail service

TRAINS will be replaced by coaches on the Geelong line for 10 days next month as work ramps up on a new stabling facility at Wyndham Vale.

Today, coaches replace all trains in both directions after 9.30pm, with trains to return to a normal schedule tomorrow.

Delays up to an hour are predicted between Thursday and April 12 as “critical” maintenance is completed on the line. Changes to regular services include coaches replacing trains between Warrnambool and Geelong from Thursday until 9pm on March 31.

From March 31 until April 10 all trains between Warrnambool and Southern Cross will be replaced by coaches.

Trains will again be replaced by coaches between Warrnambool and Southern Cross after 6pm on April 11 until the last service. The next day, trains will not run between Warrnambool and Geelong.

A V/Line spokesman said test trains and track machinery will run along the lines during the maintenance period.

“The temporary timetable aims to provide as much certainty as possible, but traffic conditions can be highly variable and coach journey times may change from day to day as a result of traffic conditions,” he said. “All train services will be replaced by a mix of express and stopping all stations coach services.”

In Melbourne, coaches will arrive and depart from the Southern Cross station coach terminal on Spencer St, opposite Little Bourke St. The Wyndham Vale project will take several months.