Ballarat commuters being crammed into shortened peak hour services are asking for answers after V/Line removed carriages from more than 40 services in the last month.
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As recently as Thursday hundreds of commuters attempting to make their way home from Southern Cross were forced into three carriages instead of the regular six.
Among the reasons offered by V/Line for the carriage cuts have been animal strikes and graffiti.
While the figure represents less than five per cent of overall journeys, the cuts only impact high demand services as they are the only services which carry six carriages.
Office worker Emma Blee, who travels during peak hour to Melbourne three times a week, said the truncated carriages had a major impact on the productivity of professional commuters.
Ms Blee, who also uses a walking stick due to disability, said the crammed conditions created by fewer opportunities for disabled people to access seating.
“There’s always very little notice about (the changes), they see us lined up the length of the platform and they know fully well it’s only going to be three carriages,” Ms Blee said. “I use train time to do work but you can’t be productive when you’ve got people crowded in the aisles.”
“When it’s reduced to three carriages at peak hour it also tends to be noticeably late.”
While V/Line passengers are entitled to compensation if the service fails to meet the stated punctuality and performance targets, no compensation is granted for changes to carriages as a seat is not guaranteed as part of the fare.
The congestion comes as the state government unveiled the new V/Line timetable which will come into effect on August 27.
The new timetable will add an extra 18 weekly services to the Ballarat line, nine of which will be added across the weekend.
Meanwhile one weekday Southern Cross to Wendouree service will be extended to Ararat.
The state government has also ordered an additional 87 carriages over the past two years of which the Ballarat line has been one of the biggest recipients.
In a statement a V/Line spokesperson said “V/Line's network planning team spends months working on new timetables and the new services are scheduled to ensure we operate a reliable service for passengers."
