The latest public transport performance results reveal train cancellations on the Cranbourne line have more than tripled since last June.
Public Transport Victoria’s December performance results show there were 62 cancellations during last December compared to 19 last June.
Train punctuality dropped by 5.8 per cent in the 12 months to December while the amount of trains delivered dropped marginally from 97.6 per cent to 97.4 per cent.
On average 48 trains were cancelled per month throughout the year with 383 trains running late in the month of December alone.
“December saw major works continue to prepare the network for the introduction of the new High Capacity Metro Trains and we especially thank passengers on the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Gippsland lines for their ongoing patience during these important works,” PTV chief executive Jeroen Weimar said.
More services were added to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines as the new metropolitan train timetable came into place in August last year with trains running every 10 minutes on weekdays until 10pm.
Commuters took to Cranbourne Star News’ Facebook page to voice their experiences.
“I have been frustrated by the cancellation on the Pakenham line as it takes me extra-long to get anywhere and with a one year old daughter its super hard,” Tayla of Berwick said.
Resident Travis King said train transport was “a pain at the moment .”
He said it makes it hard for people that “travel a fair way to go to work.”
“Hopefully when school go back for kids it will be nearly all sorted.”
Chathurika Amarasingha posted: “Yes, it is frustrating as it takes almost two hours to get to the city but hopefully for a better future!”
Salman Hazari said as a commuter he understood upgrade works were required. “But even after the works for which commuters have go through replacement services and extra travel time still after that delays keep happening like faulty trains and signalling issues,” he said.
“Train service to and from Cranbourne is very frustrating” with “too many cancellations,” Kalyan Gupta said
“Every time works happen anywhere on Pakenham or Cranbourne lines, trains between Dandenong and Cranbourne are run as a shuttle service….people are expected to change train at Dandenong
Casey Mayor Cr Amanda Stapledon raised a motion in council last May calling on the State Government to fix the Cranbourne line saying there were was a number of “really hardworking residents” that were “constantly frustrated with so many issues.”
Last August, the State Government promised a $750 million upgrade of the Cranbourne line and planning for a new rail link to Clyde.
