Frustrated commuters in regional towns in the state’s east face a horror six weeks catching buses as V/Line trains are taken off the rails for major track upgrades.
Commuters from as far as Bairnsdale, Sale and Traralgon will all be impacted by the closure from May 3 until June 18.
The Gippsland line will shut due to the state’s Big Build works, with upgrades including the addition of two tracks at East Pakenham in order to allow V/Line trains to bypass metropolitan trains, making travel smoother and more reliable.
As the works are in progress, buses will be unavailable at Flinders St, Richmond, Clayton and Berwick stations, but will be available for passengers travelling between Caulfield, Dandenong and Pakenham.
Commuters took to social media to voice their frustration with the shutdown heading into winter.
“Do some freaking pick ups and drop offs at Flinders — sick of crossing the entire city to Southern Cross, just to head back the way I came to go to Gippsland,” Josh McLaughlin commented.
The Gippsland train line was also closed from November 24 to December 10 last year. Picture: David Crosling
“We’ll be needing boats by the time that is finished, if it ever gets finished,” Leanne McCann wrote.
“Omg that’s a month and a half — hope we will be getting some sort of compensation for the inconvenience yet again,” Debbie Buzasi said.
“I always look forward to the absolute disaster this becomes every time,” Melbourne man Chris Barrett shared.
Traralgon local Shannon Knegt suggested the South Gippsland railway corridor from Cranbourne to Leongatha should be restored so that travellers don’t have to take the “unreliable buses” no longer.
A V/Line spokesperson has advised passengers to allow 60 minutes extra for the journey by bus in May and June.
“Passengers should be aware that buses will replace metropolitan train services on sections of the Pakenham Line at times during this period, due to Level Crossing Removal and Metro tunnelworks,” the spokesperson said.
“A temporary timetable is available from the PTV and V/Line websites.”
HeraldSun
