Buses to replace trains on Belgrave and Lilydale lines for a week in August

Weary commuters face more pain, with buses to replace trains on part of two busy lines during a week-long construction blitz to remove three crossings.

Thousands of eastern suburbs commuters are in for more pain — having already endured months of disrupted services — with a construction blitz to remove level crossings.

Buses will replace trains for a week, beginning on August 9, on part of the Belgrave and Lilydale lines.

Commuters in the east have already been forced to endure months of disruptions this year during works to remove the Mont Albert and Surrey Hills level crossings.

Buses replaced trains on part of the Belgrave and Lilydale lines from February to May as major works were carried out to remove the two crossings and build a new combined railway station.

There was also dreaded bus replacements on both lines over several days in June, leaving commuters fuming.

Mooroolbark commuter Steph Penna said the constant bus replacements were taking their toll on people

“It’s already a long trip into the city, but the delays make it unbearable. It’s not communicated to people and more often than not we don’t know about them until we get to the station,’’ she said

“To top it off, we still have to pay for the price to travel into the city and back.

“A few times I’ve gone into the city and I got a call from the kids’ school saying one of them is sick. I can’t spend two hours navigating my way on transport so I end up taking an uber. “It’s a joke.”

“Why the hell is there bloody bus replacements on these lines after three bloody months of half the line being shut down for three months,” one Reddit user said.

“I’m sick of bus replacements honestly,” another user said.

“It’s to be expected but yes so many disruptions,” Sabrina Fleming said on the Maroondah Leader Facebook page.

The state government has announced major works are underway to remove the crossings in Croydon, Ringwood East and Ringwood.

A construction blitz across all three sites in August will see crews work 24/7 to upgrade signalling systems and dig foundations, with buses to replace trains from Blackburn to Belgrave/Lilydale from 8.30pm Wednesday, August 9 until the last service on Tuesday, August 15.

It comes after road and rail chaos across the city in recent weeks, with residents across Melbourne’s west urged by the state government to work from home or travel outside busy times last month, to avoid chaos on the city’s road and rail networks.

The Coolstore Rd, Croydon, Dublin Rd, Ringwood East and Bedford Rd, Ringwood crossings will be completely removed by 2025.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said it was good to see more level crossing removal progressing, but it was unclear why the disrupted sections would include all the way in to Blackburn, given the three crossings being removed were all east of Ringwood station.

“We would hope that authorities are trying their best to minimise rail replacement buses – the longer the journey, the more disruptive it is for passengers,” he said.

“After so many years of these big projects, passengers are feeling some fatigue from the regular shut down of rail services.

“The government can do better at ensuring buses get good priority on the roads to ensure they don’t get stuck in traffic.”

The Level Crossing Removal Project said the week-long construction blitz would also require temporary road changes, including the closure of Coolstore Rd, Croydon at the rail line from Wednesday August 9 to Wednesday August 16, and closing Bedford Rd at the level crossing from Thursday August 10 to Monday August 14.

A new rail bridge will replace the Coolstore Rd level crossing, while the Dublin Rd and Bedford Rd crossings will be put underground, with rail trenches to be built.

New state-of-the-art stations will also be built at Croydon and Ringwood East.

Render of the new Ringwood East station.

The Lilydale line will be level crossing free by 2025, while the Belgrave line will be level crossing free between Ferntree Gully and the city.

North-Eastern Metropolitan Region Labor MP Sonja Terpstra said: “Getting rid of these level crossings will ease congestion and make it safer for people to move around, transforming the way our communities travel.”