Friday, 2 August 2019

Essential maintenance will be completed over 11 nights in August along the Gippsland rail corridor, as part of planned works by the Andrews Labor Government to boost reliability for passengers in the long term.

Road surfaces at level crossings in Garfield, Drouin and Stratford will be refurbished between August 6-15, improving access for vehicles and preventing future train service disruptions.

Crews will excavate the three level crossings to replace old sleepers and rails, before installing new track and re-asphalting the road.

Works will be completed without disrupting V/Line services, with trains re-routed on to the adjacent line or works completed in between trains.

The three level crossings to be upgraded are McIntyre Road, off Railway Avenue in Garfield, Gardner and Holman Road in Drouin, and Hobson Street in Stratford.

Metro Trains will also undertake a maintenance blitz on the Gippsland corridor from 16-18 August, completing essential track renewal between Caulfield and Dandenong.

As a result, all Traralgon train services will be replaced with coaches between Melbourne and Pakenham from about 9pm on 16 August until the last service on 18 August.  Bairnsdale services will be replaced by coaches for all or part of the journey.

Passengers will still need to touch on and off their Myki during these planned and vital maintenance works.

Metro will also complete additional maintenance, including sleeper, ballast and rail renewal, at night between Dandenong and Berwick after 9pm between August 19-21.

Coaches will again replace late-evening trains between Melbourne and Traralgon.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Public Transport Melissa Horne

“As the Gippsland corridor becomes busier, it is even more important to do essential maintenance works so regional and metropolitan trains can continue to run safely and reliably.”

“This maintenance is being completed when the network is less busy to minimise the disruption to passengers and we thank passengers for their patience while this vital work is completed.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“Resurfacing level crossings across the Gippsland line will boost reliability for passengers and make crossings safer for drivers.”

“Planned maintenance works are vital to help keep our trains running and we want to thank Gippsland passengers for their patience.”