The multi-billion dollar project was supposed to deliver a better service, but the opening two days provided only frustration for those using it, including people forced to sit on the floor.

The state government has denied the capacity of a number of peak hour services has come at the expense of increased services on the Geelong line.

However, overflowing trains were only some of a series of problems reported to The Courier, with a number of services losing carriages in the change of timetables. 

Regular commuter Marilyn Elliot said she believed Ballarat was being treated “like a second cousin” and a number of residents using the service were angry about the result. 

“They (V/Line) never said anything (about lessening the carriages on the Ballarat line),” she said.

“It was sneakily done and it just seems underhanded.”

The negative changes came as a shock to many, with the majority of train commuters seeing the RRL project as a way to solve many of the problems already occurring.  

“What is annoying is that you have to get up to the station earlier but you still arrive at the same time. It's made the journey longer,” Ms Elliot said. 

“I think it was a good service but if this is going to be the standard and we've been told that it's permanent, then it's a definite decline.”

Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan insisted the new timetable means more daily peak services for Ballarat.

"The number of carriages on Ballarat peak trains has not reduced with the recent timetable change - in fact it has increased (from 21 to 22)," Ms Allan said.

However, this time period also includes an entirely new service, meaning some trains will be smaller in terms of capacity.

V/Line spokeswoman Ebony Jordan said one Monday morning peak service was delayed by 13 minutes with the others only suffering minor delays. 

“PTV (Public Transport Victoria) and V/Line will continue to monitor patronage as customers get used to the new timetable and find the service that best suits their travel needs,” she said. 

Daily commuter Doug Mills praised the increased frequency of services, but flagged concerns over sheer passenger numbers.

“By the time we got to Ballan this morning (Tuesday) there were probably already five or six people standing,” Mr Mills said

“People climbed in everywhere at Bacchus Marsh and there must have been a couple of hundred standing (by Southern Cross).”