With large numbers of cancellations causing chaos on the rail network, we’re now tracking the number of daily cancellations on our web site. Watch for the last weekday’s cancellations in the top right of page, and daily totals will be listed here.
Trains in peak hour can easily carry over a thousand people. This means that just eight cancelled trains is the equivalent disruption to closing the Westgate bridge for an hour. In the first three weeks of January, each weekday an average of 40 trains have been cancelled, many of them during the peaks.
While Connex can do better at handling disruptions, it’s critical that the government tell commuters what its solutions are to ensuring the rail network runs reliably, because their multi-billion dollar Victorian Transport Plan released in December is silent on these issues.
On other railway systems around Australia and around the world, they have ensured that the infrastructure is capable of handling normal weather patterns. In Perth, a city with warmer weather than Melbourne, a proactive programme of replacing wooden sleepers with concrete ones is ensuring that heat-related delays are reduced to a minimum. The Victorian government should commit to upgrading tracks, signalling equipment and the Comeng air-conditioning units to prevent more heat-related disruptions each summer.
Cancellations by day
| Fri 2/01/2009 | 15 |
| Mon 5/01/2009 | 27 |
| Tue 6/01/2009 | 33 |
| Wed 7/01/2009 | 11 |
| Thu 8/01/2009 | 10 |
| Fri 9/01/2009 | 13 |
| Mon 12/01/2009 | 28 |
| Tue 13/01/2009 | 93 |
| Wed 14/01/2009 | 45 |
| Thu 15/01/2009 | 40 |
| Fri 16/01/2009 | 24 |
| Mon 19/01/2009 | 64 |
| Tue 20/01/2009 | 86 |
| Wed 21/01/2009 | 48 |
| Thu 22/01/2009 | 50 |
| Fri 23/01/2009 | 36 |
| Tue 27/01/2009 | 48 |
| Wed 28/01/2009 | 234 |
| Thu 29/01/2009 | 170+ |
Line suspensions not included. These generally result in large numbers of additional cancellations along some or all of the suspended line.