Crowded, late V/Line fails to meet benchmarks almost half the time
VICTORIA’S shocking regional train system has been slammed in an audit, which found it is failing to meet key benchmarks almost half of the time.
VICTORIA’S regional train system has been slammed in an audit which found it is failing to meet key benchmarks almost half of the time.
The performance of V/Line over the past decade had “mostly fallen short of community expectations”, according to the report by the Auditor-General.
V/LINE CONDUCTORS VIOLENTLY ASSAULTED
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The service had consistently failed to meet targets set out in its service agreement with the State Government, particularly over the past three years.
Between July 2013 and March 2017, V/Line failed to meet its benchmarks 47 per cent of the time.
It comes after V/Line was plunged into crisis last year after a boom gate failed to close properly when a VLocity train approached a level crossing.
The Auditor-General’s audit raised concerns about excessive wheel wear on VLocity trains and their failure to activate boom gates on time.
The boom gate failure caused a temporary shutdown of the network and significant service disruptions, resulting in a loss of about 600,000 patrons last financial year.
The has audit uncovered a number of other issues, including:
OVERCROWDING and delays on the Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat line;
AN inability to consistently get V/Line trains to arrive at the metropolitan boundary in time to use their scheduled path; and
CONGESTION on the shared metropolitan networks.
“V/Line has not successfully dealt with the challenges it has faced over the past decade,” the report said.
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“However, it has recently started to turn this situation around and is now better informed about the risks and challenges facing its operations.
“V/Line was not prepared for the strong growth in patronage and the resulting increase in service demand following the opening of the RRL (Regional Rail Link), which fundamentally changed the nature of its operations.
“Consequently, V/Line’s performance over the past 10 years has mostly fallen short of its targets and community expectations, despite infrastructure improvements and timetable changes.”
The Auditor-General has recommended strengthening monitoring processes to ensure trains run on time and improve its systems to better scrutinise whether it is meeting its benchmarks.
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