Off the tracks

By Callan Date
CASEY’S train users were faced with staggering delays last month.
One in every four trains was late on the Pakenham line while the Cranbourne service was ranked as the third worst performed with almost 17 per cent of trains late.
Train operator Connex released the results last week – some of the worst recorded since the embattled organisation took over the Pakenham service in April 2004.
Casey commuters catching the train at Cranbourne, Berwick and Merinda Park stations were regularly required to wait more than six minutes after the scheduled time to board a train.
In some cases the waiting time increased to more than 40 minutes and some services were cancelled.
The results follow concerning figures for the first two months of 2007.
More than 15 per cent of trains were late in January and 18.7 per cent during February.
The Pakenham service was the worst performed out of the entire 16-line Connex network.
Connex has admitted the latest figures for the Pakenham service are disappointing but has offered a range of reasons as to why the trains were continually late.
“Having one in four scheduled services running late is far from satisfactory for customers,” Connex spokeswoman Kate Declercq said.
Train braking issues, increased patronage and a gas leak were all contributing factors in the dismal results, she said.
But Public Transport Users Association vice-president Alex Makin said the list was just a roll call of standard excuses peddled out by Connex.
“Connex simply rotates one excuse after another,” Mr Makin said.
“If it’s not major events, it’s vandalism or driver shortages or problems with the trains. It’s just a range of excuses they roll out to cover up their poor performance.”
He said the results clearly indicated the company was losing its grip on trying to operate the train lines.
“The Pakenham line is consistently rated as one of the worst lines in metropolitan Melbourne,” Mr Makin said. “These latest figures are certainly some of the worst we have ever seen.”
Further angering Mr Makin was the compensation offered to customers with one-month, six-month or year tickets.
“The compensation scheme is not adequate and it’s time consuming. You have to prove that you have a valid ticket and that you used the trains during that month,” he said.
Ms Declercq said eligible customers were not refunded cash but received a daily Metcard to use.
She could not guarantee Casey’s public transport users that their service would improve in coming months.
A Government spokesman said Connex would continue to be monitored. “Brake issues on Siemens trains and the subsequent speed precautions have contributed to the performance on the Pakenham line. This is being rectified and performance times are expected to improve,” he said.