Ballarat line commuters are more likely to hop on a scheduled train than other “short distance” services, new performance results show.
The results show V/Line trains met punctuality targets for eight consecutive months on the Ballarat line.
A total of 94 per cent of trains arrived at their destination within six minutes of schedule during March.
But the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) said the results should not be taken at face value. PTUA regional spokesman Paul Westcott said it was important to be careful when interpreting the figures.
In the eight months, Public Transport Victoria (PTV) data recorded 99 per cent “reliability” on the Ballarat line, compared with Albury (97.8), Bendigo (98), Geelong (98.2), Gippsland (97.5) and Seymour (97.3) lines.
“The thing to remember is punctuality is measured by fairly loose measures. As long as the train has arrived within six minutes or no more than one minute early, it’s recorded as being punctual,” Mr Westcott said.
He said he was shocked but pleased to see Ballarat trains were generally reliable and punctual, considering they travelled on a single-track line.
“It’s good that they’re able to manage on those tracks as it can throw them right off given that they have that limitation.
“Trains going in the opposite direction to the peak – like trains going to Ballarat in the morning and into Southern Cross in the evening – tend to get held up to give priority to trains going into the peak direction.”
Duplicating and electrifying the line to Melton will help improve performance and increase patronage, Mr Westcott said.
PTV chief executive Mark Wild said V/Line should be given credit for exceeding targets on the Ballarat and Bendigo lines for so many months.
“These are key lines as they provide a significant service to people in Victoria’s growing regional areas,” he said.
A PTV spokesman encouraged commuters to regularly check the V/Line website, download the My Line app and follow V/Line on Twitter for any updates.
