October 2016 was the only month over the past two years where V/Line managed to achieve its goal of 92 per cent of services running punctually, which as defined as arriving within five minutes and 59 seconds of the stated time.   

The anger comes days after V/Line revealed just 79.8 per cent of services were punctual on the Ballarat line during May, the worst monthly result for the service since at least August 2014.   

Regular commuter Joseph van Dyk said the consistently poor performance was leaving passengers wondering whether they can afford to rely on the service. 

“The statistics speak for themselves and it’s difficult to understand how it can drop off so dramatically when nothing’s really changed,” Mr van Dyk said.   

Ballarat Public Transport Users Association convener Ben Lever said given the poor results, V/Line should consider providing service-specific performance statistics to ensure commuters can better judge which train to catch.  Capacity data for services was introduced during the wheel-wear crisis in January 2016. 

“If people could see that, for example, the 7:39 had worse punctuality problems than the 7:17, and they absolutely have to be on time, they might choose to take the earlier train,” Mr Lever said.  

“If V/Line can't hit that target regularly, the public needs to know about it - and receive compensation for it.” 

The target of 92 per cent punctuality is one which  applies to the entire V/Line network and is set by Public Transport Victoria, with commuters able to claim compensation every month the company fails to meet the figure. 

The threshold has remained the same since the 1990s despite the changing public transport landscape throughout the state.   

In a statement, PTV spokesperson John Lindsay defended the target, saying “setting challenging thresholds for all public transport operators ensures they are striving to deliver a reliable and punctual service for passengers”.  

The latest figures come ahead of the implementation of the new Ballarat timetable on August 27 which will add an additional 18 services a week to the line.   

A further 87 VLocity carriages have just been purchased by the state government in an attempt to cope with increase demand across the V/Line network, on top of the 15 new carriages which have gone into service on the Ballarat line over the past two years.   

The $518 million Ballarat Line Upgrade will deliver new passing loops along the line to assist with punctuality while also duplicating rail from Deer Park to Melton.   

While electrification of the Melton line is not yet viable given the capacity of the city loop, it has been suggested as a future priority by Infrastructure Australia.  While no funding has been committed, Mr van Dyk said this needed to be looked at urgently to assist future congestion.