THE seemingly endless wait for the completion of the Ballarat line upgrade can't come quickly enough for Ballarat commuters given V/Line's monthly punctuality figures for September which were released on Friday.
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After hitting the peak of 93 per cent in July, unfortunately it's been a steady decline since with Ballarat's punctuality at just 86.2 per cent throughout the past month.
The Ballarat line was the second least punctual regional line throughout September, only beaten by long-haul trains on the Gippsland line to Bairnsdale which ran at just 73.8 per cent on time.
V/Line said September was heavily impacted by a complex track fault at Rockbank, which required a temporary speed restriction to be put in place for safety reasons. Longer dwell times also contributed to delays to almost 50 services.
It's been a tough few weeks for commuters with the school holiday shutdown - albeit being the first week of October - among the issues they have had to face.
Another six-day shutdown will occur from October 19-24 as works are completed on Southern Cross Station's regional platforms. Then a three-week closure from November 9 to December 1 will happen as the upgraded line is finally commissioned.
Given two weeks of shutdown periods throughout October, it should be expected that this month's figures will be up when they are released in early November.
Compensation is available to V/Line customers who experience a delay of 60 minutes or more in a single journey.
To apply for compensation for a single trip, you may either complete an online feedback form at vline.com.au, noting the details of your journey and selecting 'complaint' as the type of feedback, or call 1800 800 007 to discuss the details of your journey.
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