Railworks near Victoria Park station, Abbotsford have caused houses to vibrate

People living near Victoria Park station have been sleepless for days because of the heavy machinery operation by Metro Trains.

People who live near Victoria Park say they had little or no warning of the noisy works. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Constant noise from railworks near Victoria Park station is keeping neighbouring residents awake and is so bad the din is vibrating houses.

Families in the Abbotsford enclave have been sleepless for days on end because of the heavy machinery operation by Metro Trains.

Residents say they had little or no warning of the extent of the works which was scheduled to end more than a week ago but has continued 24 hours a day ever since.

Spokesman Adam Promnitz said residents were tired, angry and frustrated at being ignored by Metro.

“This is noise you can feel,’’ he said.

The tight-knit community supported the maintenance of the rail network and knew when they bought homes some train noise was inevitable, he said.

The group of residents say their complaints are being ignored by Metro. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“But the works that have been taking place has simply not been reasonable.’’

Complaints to Metro and the Department of Transport have mostly fallen on deaf ears.

“There’s multiple government departments shifting the blame to each other,’’ Mr Promnitz said.

Noise measuring devices recorded readings above 90 decibels.

The Environment Protection Authority cannot regulate construction by a government authority or essential transport work. Yarra council is also powerless to enforce its noise abatement bylaws.

Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly said Metro’s customer relations was appalling.

“They’ve come in like a colonial army and haven’t told the locals what’s going on and treated them with contempt,’’ Cr Jolly said.

He called for more communication from Metro of the work schedule and some attempt at noise mitigation.

“Do they really need to have the generator going all night?’’

Metro did two letterbox drops at households next to the train line only, even though the noise was penetrating homes up to 100m away.

Work began on March 25 on overnight maintenance on the Mernda Line. It was due to be completed on March 30 but it continued nightly for more than a week.

Damage has also been done to trees and recently laid grass was ripped up.

A Metro spokesperson apologised for the disruptions.

“Metro is working closely with residents to address their concerns around noise associated with these works, and the movement of machinery,” the spokesperson said.

A Metro representative is believed to be meeting residents on Monday.

Another resident said that when she bought her home six years ago she knew there would be some noise because of being so close to a football oval, train line and the Eastern Freeway.

But the all-night noise was intolerable, she said.

“We are exhausted and frustrated,’’ she said.