NewsBite

Cranbourne, Pakenham fault causes major delays, buses replacing trains

A recently installed piece of equipment is to blame for plunging the Pakenham and Cranbourne line into chaos yesterday, delaying thousands of passengers for hours.

James Dowling and staff writers
2 min read
January 15, 2019 - 2:26PM
Commuters faced delays of up to two hours on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines due to a train fault. Picture: Twitter/SanChhay
Commuters faced delays of up to two hours on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines due to a train fault. Picture: Twitter/SanChhay

A recently installed overhead wire dropped at Malvern Station plunged the Pakenham and Cranbourne line into chaos yesterday, delaying thousands of passengers for hours.

Crews worked through the night to move a train blocking the track at Carnegie since after yesterday afternoon’s peak-hour.

The troubled lines were reopened just in time for this morning’s peak-hour after being shut down between Caulfield and Oakleigh last night.

But the pain continued for commuters with major delays and cancellations this morning.

‘I DID THE RIGHT THING’: TOMIC STANDS BY HEWITT RANT

THE GANG OF AMPUTEE THUGS WHO TERRORISED MELBOURNE

NEW HOST OPENS UP ON POOR TODAY RATINGS

Public Transport Victoria said they had to shut down the line because the overhead wire took out three consecutive trains.

The wire and its gantry were installed in the first two weeks of January, when part of the line was shut down for summer upgrades.

One train made it to Carnegie station from nearby Malvern before it was realised the train was faulty.

Metro Trains struggled to put on replacement buses to get commuters home, leaving frsutrated commuters late home.

The flow-on effect to the Frankston line meant those trains were running at least 40 minutes behind schedule.

PTV chief executive Jeroen Weimar said it has launched an investigation into the failure of the overhead wire with Metro Trains to ensure “this type of incident does not happen again.”

“It was completely unacceptable and we will be working very closely with our operators to ensure we understand the root causes for this,” he said.

Public Transport minister Melissa Horne apologised to the affected passengers and said those travelling yesterday on the Cranbourne and Packenham and Frankston lines would have fares reimbursed.

While Gippsland V/Line passengers, who have suffered through more than 100 days of line closures in the past year, would be eligible for a ticket refund and a day of free transport.

Just after 5am, Metro Trains advised on Twitter that workers had completed the repairs, finished the final safety checks and reopened the lines.

However, due to the repairs, trains were not in the proper starting position ahead of services today, causing more delays.

Metro said delays of up to 15 minutes could be expected, with multiple cancellations.

The line was expected to be fully restored by the early afternoon.

“Unfortunately with the major damage needing to be repaired, we did not have all trains in the proper position to start services today. Our train controllers have worked to minimise delays and alterations, again sorry,” Metro tweeted this morning.

The head of Public Transport Victoria earlier blamed the “disappointing incident” on a train and

Metro Trains late on Monday said crews were “working through the night to get services up and running from first service” on Tuesday.

Massive queues formed at Caulfield station as replacement buses failed to meet peak-hour demand.

Metro Trains advised passengers to board a Frankston line train and change to a replacement bus at Caulfield or “defer travel plans or seek alternative transport options”.

As a result the Frankston line experienced major delays of up to 90 minutes as Cranbourne-Pakenham passengers crammed on to its trains. Frankston line services returned to normal after 8pm.

Angry commuters took to social media to vent their disgust, posting photos of queues and packed platforms at Caulfield and Richmond railway stations.

Many called on Metro Trains to provide compensation.

More related stories

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/cranbourne-pakenham-track-fault-causes-major-delays-buses-replacing-trains/news-story/168796c1df3641157736b197ca46c32f