I wonder why these issues could not have been fixed during the current shutdown...

Today I received a response to a complaint I made to V/Line a few weeks back regarding a service that departed early. As I climbed the stairs from the underpass at CME thinking I had a minute to spare I heard the horn go and the V/Locity which was replacing a canned Up Swan Hill service took off. Of course it didn't even get 1km up the road before stopping for 4 minutes to cross a Down service.

And I quote;

"Thank you for contacting us regarding your experience when travelling from Castlemaine towards Southern Cross on 11 February 2022.

At the outset I’d like to apologise for the delay in my response to your feedback and for any inconvenience caused when you were unable to board the 16:28 service. Upon investigation this service was temporarily altered to depart at 16:27, however acknowledge that this change was not effectively communicated to customers. I have provided this feedback to our Head of Network Services – Planning to review their processes and ensure changes to departure times are communicated to customers in a clear and timely manner.

Everyone at V/Line is determined to provide customers with a service they deserve and expect. I regret that we were unable to achieve that outcome in this circumstance.

I once again apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for taking the time to contact us with your feedback. If you have any queries or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact our dedicated customer service team on 1800 800 007 or by replying to this email."

I call BOLLOCKS on this. Why on earth would a timetable be altered for one service to depart 1 minute early at any time, let alone when it is known to all that the service makes a cross at CME and the opposing service is almost always late!!!!!!!

Escalation time I think....... This is the exact kind of BS response I was referring to the other day @vinelander, you wonder why you even waste your time

Does anyone at Vline realise (or care) how stupid this response makes them appear.

They would have been better off using the general rule that trains may run up to 3 (whatever ?) minutes ahead of time. It must exist in the library of excuses somewhere.

I would have had someone's head for a reply like this.

Freight train derailment at Parwan this morning. No further info yet...

Freight train derailment at Parwan this morning. No further info yet...

Ballarat line - Partial Line Suspension UPDATE: 06.45 The following services alterations are currently in place on the Ballarat Line due to a freight train derailment at Parwan. Services departing from Ararat/Wendouree will terminate at Bacchus Marsh Services departing from Southern Cross will terminate at Melton. Coaches are currently shuttling between Melton and Bacchus Marsh. Coaches will not run to a timetable.

at least they are doing the sensible thing and having a partial closure, and running bus shuttles around the incident.

Freight train derailment at Parwan this morning. No further info yet...

Being reported on the TTV Facebook page that it was a Hi-Rail spraying weeds

Must have been pretty serious for a hi-rail to close a main line!

Ballarat line - Partial Line Suspension UPDATE: 06.45 The following services alterations are currently in place on the Ballarat Line due to a freight train derailment at Parwan. Services departing from Ararat/Wendouree will terminate at Bacchus Marsh Services departing from Southern Cross will terminate at Melton. Coaches are currently shuttling between Melton and Bacchus Marsh. Coaches will not run to a timetable.

at least they are doing the sensible thing and having a partial closure, and running bus shuttles around the incident.

Good to hear, well done!

Freight train derailment at Parwan this morning. No further info yet...

Being reported on the TTV Facebook page that it was a Hi-Rail spraying weeds

Must have been pretty serious for a hi-rail to close a main line!

Photo now on the TTV FB page showing a Hi-Rail truck derailed on the Bull Farm curves at Parwan with the Hi-Viz in attendance sorting it out. Track was due to re-open at around 12.40 if the post is to be believed

Freight train derailment at Parwan this morning. No further info yet...

Being reported on the TTV Facebook page that it was a Hi-Rail spraying weeds

Must have been pretty serious for a hi-rail to close a main line!

Photo now on the TTV FB page showing a Hi-Rail truck derailed on the Bull Farm curves at Parwan with the Hi-Viz in attendance sorting it out. Track was due to re-open at around 12.40 if the post is to be believed

A massive accident with potentially catastrophic consequences by the time the media gets hold of it.
It might have been disasterous for the bulls.
Three years work for the ATSB.

Signed: Sarcastic bastard.

Signal issues near Southern Cross currently throwing the timetable into disarray.

Signal issues near Southern Cross currently throwing the timetable into disarray.

Yep, welcome back Bendigo Line commuters, hope you enjoyed the buses, at least they ran to timetable! One of the early Down services canned this morning while my 09.06 Down was on time until Metrol held us at Albion while we waited for a spark to overtake us so they could have the path. Just left Sunbury now, 15 minutes late at a guess.

What a great service this is.......

Signal issues near Southern Cross currently throwing the timetable into disarray.

Yep, welcome back Bendigo Line commuters, hope you enjoyed the buses, at least they ran to timetable! One of the early Down services canned this morning while my 09.06 Down was on time until Metrol held us at Albion while we waited for a spark to overtake us so they could have the path. Just left Sunbury now, 15 minutes late at a guess.

What a great service this is.......

The locals and myself are pretty fed up with it.  With fuel prices skyrocketing, now is the time for V/line to lift their game and encourage mode shift.

But that won't happen with repeated signal failures and priority given to Metro Trains at Sunshine 90% of the time.

I travel once a week to the Melb office.  About 8 times out of the past 10 attempts on the return journey have not gone to plan.  Over it.  Totally unreliable, especially on the Down trip.

Signal issues near Southern Cross currently throwing the timetable into disarray.

Yep, welcome back Bendigo Line commuters, hope you enjoyed the buses, at least they ran to timetable! One of the early Down services canned this morning while my 09.06 Down was on time until Metrol held us at Albion while we waited for a spark to overtake us so they could have the path. Just left Sunbury now, 15 minutes late at a guess.

What a great service this is.......

The locals and myself are pretty fed up with it.  With fuel prices skyrocketing, now is the time for V/line to lift their game and encourage mode shift.

But that won't happen with repeated signal failures and priority given to Metro Trains at Sunshine 90% of the time.

I travel once a week to the Melb office.  About 8 times out of the past 10 attempts on the return journey have not gone to plan.  Over it.  Totally unreliable, especially on the Down trip.

Government also need to play its part by duplicating and upgrading the track (and perhaps even the RRL signalling).

On the V/Line website tonight and the 18:08 Southern Cross -Swan Hill service has been cancelled due to a defective train and to catch the 19:08 train to Bendigo and change to coaches for remainder of trip.

Was out for my evening walk and as timetabled for the down Swan Hill a light engine N Class arrives into Castlemaine at 19:52.

I can see why those that travel regularly are giving up V/Line and finding other modes of transport or just shifting back to Melbourne.

On the V/Line website tonight and the 18:08 Southern Cross -Swan Hill service has been cancelled due to a defective train and to catch the 19:08 train to Bendigo and change to coaches for remainder of trip.

Was out for my evening walk and as timetabled for the down Swan Hill a light engine N Class arrives into Castlemaine at 19:52.

I can see why those that travel regularly are giving up V/Line and finding other modes of transport or just shifting back to Melbourne.

I'm finding the carpark at Kangaroo Flat Station has about half the cars it had in the carpark pre-covid.  It has picked up slightly in the past month.

Swan Hill trains have been rather unreliable of late.  Yesterday's morning Up carked it at Pyramid Hill.  The morning Down terminated at Bendigo, detached N471 which then ran up to retrieve a broken N475 and N-set.  It returned empty to Melbourne late afternoon as a double-header (N475 dead attached).

Right on cue:

Bendigo line suspended between Kyneton and Bendigo this morning. No official word as to why but I have been told it is sadly due to someone stepping in front of a train.

Freight train derailment at Parwan this morning. No further info yet...

Being reported on the TTV Facebook page that it was a Hi-Rail spraying weeds

Must have been pretty serious for a hi-rail to close a main line!

Photo now on the TTV FB page showing a Hi-Rail truck derailed on the Bull Farm curves at Parwan with the Hi-Viz in attendance sorting it out. Track was due to re-open at around 12.40 if the post is to be believed

A massive accident with potentially catastrophic consequences by the time the media gets hold of it.
It might have been disasterous for the bulls.
Three years work for the ATSB.

Signed: Sarcastic bastard.

The bull farm has closed...no more bulls, nor bull$hit.

Mike.

Maybe we should start another thread, "I caught a V/Line train on time and there were no delays."  


It would be the shortest thread on RP.

Maybe we should start another thread, "I caught a V/Line train on time and there were no delays."  


It would be the shortest thread on RP.

"I caught a V/Line train on time and there were no delays."












Then I woke up !

I thought I caught a V Line train on time, then discovered it was yesterday's train.

This morning's incident has cascaded through the timetable. PM Up Swanners rather unsurprisingly canned but to have the following Velo hauled service amexed is a bit of a surprise. No Up trains for around 2 hours this evening. Happy Happy Joy Joy.

I thought I caught a V Line train on time, then discovered it was yesterday's train.

That's because it carries the same Train Number as yesterday's train and the day before that......

This morning's incident has cascaded through the timetable. PM Up Swanners rather unsurprisingly canned but to have the following Velo hauled service amexed is a bit of a surprise. No Up trains for around 2 hours this evening. Happy Happy Joy Joy.

Was working in Golden Square today and saw the original Up Swan Hill return to Bendigo around midday.
When I drove back over the yards about 2pm the loco & train was ready to run an Up service idling away. Only needed to reverse back to the platform.

This morning's incident has cascaded through the timetable. PM Up Swanners rather unsurprisingly canned but to have the following Velo hauled service amexed is a bit of a surprise. No Up trains for around 2 hours this evening. Happy Happy Joy Joy.

Was working in Golden Square today and saw the original Up Swan Hill return to Bendigo around midday.
When I drove back over the yards about 2pm the loco & train was ready to run an Up service idling away. Only needed to reverse back to the platform.

Fed up with Coaches I decided to wait out the cancellations at The Railway hotel with a happy crew of knocked off tradies and other local riff raff. Sure enough at around 17.10 we heard the tell tale sound of an N class horn as a train approached on the Up

Next thing the canned Up Swan Hill roared through Castlemaine empty cars on the way back to Melbourne. Now I have been informed previously that the Up SH set needs to be back at Southern Cross in a timely manner to form a Down Gippsland service so this was expected.

The 6 pm Up service actually ran as a train so I boarded the 3 car COMMUTER set bound for Footscray. It was PACKED with the young people heading out for a big night on the tiles mingling with the tired, oh so tired Swan Hillites who had chosen not to take the coach, easily spotted with their large suitcases threatening to tumble off the overhead racks (the commuter sets being a bit light on for storage as well as toilets.......)

I changed at Footscray for North Melbourne and as I rode the escalator from the platform to the concourse I gazed across at the flyover to see what looked suspiciously like the same set (3 x purple repainted cars and 1 x old paint scheme) drifting back towards Dynon empty cars.

Another day another suite of cancellations / coachstitutions. And yeah, I know that the original incident is out of Vline's hands. But where is the flexibility, the want to actually run trains, the care for the customers / passengers? Nowhere to be seen just can whatever services you need to ( 4 to 5 hours after the line re-opened in this case) and passengers be damned.

Bring it on V/Line defenders, I don't care anymore. The system is STUFFED. Nothing you can say will convince me otherwise.

Seems like late running is the order of the morning for Down RRL trains this AM. Not sure why but the 8.44 Wendouree just through 9 minutes late and the 8.23 Melton was a non starter by the looks

***edit looks like there was a rail equipment fault between Deer Park and Sunshine delaying Up services, I presume this cascaded into some delays on the Down. Seems to be pretty much back to normal now, my Down Bendigo was 2 minutes early into Footscrazy

On another note it is nice to see the TSR at the Down end of P4 at Footscray is now gone with empty cars movements (and there are LOTS of them in the AM peak) rocketing through once again instead of delaying following services crawling through the 30 / 40 limits