Melton commuters have given the new Regional Rail Link service from Ballarat the thumbs down, as services to and from the area have been scaled back.
V/Line commuters have taken to Facebook to let off steam about delays and overcrowding as a result of fewer services on the Ballarat line through Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Rockbank since the introduction of new timetables on June 21.
Only four services now stop at Melton in the 7am-9am peak hour, previously there were six.
Regular commuter ‘Linda’, who travels from Melton to Southern Cross three days a week, said the overcrowding of V/Line trains in both mornings and afternoons was “ridiculous”.
“I’m so angry about these changes,” she told Star Weekly.
“I used to be able to catch the 7am or 7.13am, but now I can only catch one at 7.15am.
“On Monday, the platform was packed. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Linda said that because of delays she had decided to use the Metro train from Albion which, she said, was not as congested and left every six minutes.
“It’s ridiculous that I can’t catch a train from my own area,” she said.
“These high numbers of commuters indicate we need more train services, not fewer.”
Rowsley resident Dotty Hazell said son Matthew, who attends Staughton College in Melton, had to leave school early to catch the only feasible service back to Bacchus Marsh, which connects with only one bus home.
“If he misses the 8.05am, the next train is not until 8.40 and that means he’ll be late for school,” she said.
“Afternoons are even worse. To catch the 3.12pm train to Bacchus Marsh, he has to leave school early at 2.55 or wait for the next train at 3.48. This means he misses the one bus service home [to Rowsley].”
V/Line spokeswoman Ebony Jordan said it would take a couple of weeks for the new timetable to bed down.
“As part of any new timetable, there are changes to departure times, stopping patterns and allocation of rolling stock,” she said.
“V/Line and Public Transport Victoria have been closely monitoring the activity and patronage each day this week.
“We’re already seeing Bacchus Marsh and Melton customers adjust their travel patterns for a comfortable journey. We also organised coaches this morning to add capacity to the popular 6.04am service to Southern Cross Station. This arrangement will continue until further notice. We’re also progressively rolling out new VLocity carriages and these will be placed where there is the highest demand.
“The new trains will help improve capacity on particularly busy services.”
And two extra carriages will also begin running on the Ballarat line soon, further bolstering capacity in the morning and evening peaks.
