V/Line trains halted again over faults

Faulty level crossing boom gates are again causing delays and disruptions for regional train passengers in Victoria.

VLine train stock

Faulty level crossing boom gates are again causing delays for regional train passengers in Victoria. (AAP)

A faulty boom gate has halted a regional rail line in Victoria, causing more headaches for country commuters after a horror year of delays.

Train services between Warrnambool and Geelong were replaced by buses on Wednesday after a boom gate on the line didn't activate fast enough.

While there was no danger to passengers or drivers, services will be suspended until early next week, V/Line said in a statement.

It comes after regional commuters spent six months catching buses when V/Line services were banned from metropolitan tracks when a train failed to trigger boom gates in January.

At the same time V/Line found wheels were wearing thin and had to boost maintenance.

The issues contributed to the company posting a $23 million loss in the 2015/16 financial year.

In October Transport Minister Jacinta Allan assured Victorians the company was back on track.

"We've restored and increased funding to V/Line, ordered 48 new carriages and added more than 340 extra services every week, with 170 more to be introduced next year," she said at the time.

A spokesman for V/Line said the company will be investigating the recent boom gate fault and boosting safety measures.

The Warrnambool line was riddled with punctuality problems last month.

It was on time 61.1 per cent of the time in October, way below V/Line's 92 per cent punctuality target.


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Source: AAP



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