By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
CRANBOURNE peak train services reliability hit an all-time low in February.
Monthly data from Public Transport Victoria revealed just 85 per cent of peak Cranbourne services ran on time last month, which makes February the worst month for Cranbourne commuters in more than a year.
Just a month earlier 88 per cent of trains were recorded as arriving and departing on time from Cranbourne.
Greens South-East Metro MP, Nina Springle has slammed the record low results.
“Cranbourne line performance has plummeted over the past 12 months,“ Ms Springle said.
“Most of these delays are preventable. Train networks around the world manage to avoid cancellations and late running, but locally Metro and the government just make excuses.”
Daily train commuter, Mandy Galvin, has travelled the Cranbourne line to work in Melbourne’s CBD for 14 years and has labelled Cranbourne the “most disappointing train line.”
“I don’t believe 15 per cent of Cranbourne trains were late last month – that’s an underestimation,” Ms Galvin said.
“It’s about 60 per cent on time to 40 per cent late.”
Ms Galvin, a Cranbourne resident, has had to alter her morning routine significantly over the past 14 years to deal with Cranbourne’s unreliable train services.
“The Cranbourne line often gets dumped at Dandenong on my commute home, where we have to wait for another train.
“I used to give myself an hour and a half to get to work, now I have to give myself at least two hours,” she said.
Ms Galvin said Cranbourne’s morning trains seem to run on time, however the evening commute can be “horrendous”.
“They need to run a second line along here because having a single train line means if one is late on one end, the other has to wait and it causes delays, it’s not very well managed,” she said.
Cranbourne resident, Daniel Garlick, echoed Ms Galvin’s opinion, saying “Cranbourne commuters get a bad deal compared to every other train line.”
“I catch the train to university four days a week and in that week I will have to deal with two trains running late,” he said.
What do you think of the Cranbourne train line? Leave a comment below.
