But the regional public transport operator said there was no definitive or consistent reason why, with a number of factors likely to be at play.

The Bendigo Advertiser collated tweets related to 1856 disruptions on train services on the Bendigo line in the 18 months to July 1, 2018.

Of those, 1026 occurred in the 2017-18 financial year.

The 7.41 Southern Cross Station - Swan Hill; 16.57 Southern Cross Station - Eaglehawk; and 19.02 Southern Cross Station - Bendigo services were the subjects of the most tweets during that period.

More than 70 tweets addressed disruptions to 7.41 Southern Cross Station - Swan Hill services, 34 of which were from January 2018 onward.

Each of the 16.57 Southern Cross Station - Eaglehawk and 19.02 Southern Cross Station - Bendigo trains were the subject of more than 50 tweets, most of which were published this year.

Disruptions to all three lines were higher in the first six months of the year than in the previous comparable period.

INFOGRAPHIC: Delays on each line (story continues below)

A variety of factors contributed to the unscheduled delays, including heat restrictions in the summer months; train faults; near-misses with trespassers; track faults; animals on the line; vandalism; track obstructions; congestion on tracks shared with Metro trains; staff sickness; and ill passengers requiring medical assistance.

“V/Line is working hard to deliver a service that Bendigo line passengers deserve and expect,” V/Line chief executive James Pinder said.

“V/Line has analysed performance data identified by the Bendigo Advertiser and there is no definitive or consistent reason for delays on the corridor - delays and cancellations can be caused by a number of factors.”

A government spokesperson said unplanned disruption was ‘part of any public transport network’.

“We expect all of our operators to manage it well, but safety is, and rightly should be, the top priority,” they said.

Related: 

The spokesperson said V/Line was facing some significant challenges when Labor was elected to government, citing $120 million in cuts by the former Liberal National government.

“We restored that funding, we ordered more trains to run more services and support local jobs, and we took the fight to the Turnbull Government to secure money that was owed to Victorians to upgrade every regional rail line and we won.

“And we have more to do - in the short term, the new V/Line Chair, Jeroen Weimar is working with the V/Line team on what can happen straight away to improve performance and for the long term, the Bendigo Line Upgrade will help to improve performance for local passengers.”

Related: Government hits back at Bendigo line train criticism

The head of V/Line said the organisation had a comprehensive performance improvement plan. 

“Combined with the increased infrastructure investment happening right across the regional rail network, this will enable us to deliver a better transport service for Bendigo line passengers,” Mr Pinder said.

There are more than 54,000 passenger trips each week on the Bendigo line.

“We are running more services, more often, which also increases the number of services that are at risk of being delayed when a fault occurs,” Mr Pinder said.

“V/Line balances operational demands across the entire state and delays or cancellations experienced on the Bendigo, Swan Hill or Echuca services can stem from things that happen on other parts of the regional and metropolitan networks.”

V/Line patronage has increased by 39 per cent across the network in the past six years.

“Sometimes we may need to reduce capacity on a service which we know has lower patronage to ensure another service carrying more people can still run and protect the network from further delays,” Mr Pinder said.

Related: More trains on time on the Bendigo line in June: V/Line

About 70 of V/Line’s tweets in the past financial year related to trains on the Bendigo line running at reduced capacity.

Services most frequent affected departed Southern Cross Station from 4pm – 6pm and terminated in Bendigo or nearby.

“We apologise to customers if there is a disruption to their service. Our priority is ensuring people safely get to where they need to go and we aim to minimise disruptions as much as possible,” Mr Pinder said.

He said passengers delayed by more than 60 minutes in a single journey could be eligible for compensation and encouraged people to contact V/Line on 1800 800 007 or through a feedback form on the V/Line website: www.vline.com.au

IN almost five months of travel on Bendigo line trains, commuter Jessica Wason recorded disruptions to 83 per cent of her journeys.

But only 63 of the 142 affected services would have been considered ‘late’ by V/Line punctuality standards, and only two would have been eligible for compensation as single journeys.

Mrs Wason took the train between Kangaroo Flat and Southern Cross Station, in Melbourne, 170 times from January 15 – May 25.

In that period, 28 services ran to schedule or reached their destination early. 

But more than 140 arrived after the scheduled time. The trains were less than six minutes late in 79 instances – V/Line does not consider a commuter service ‘late’ until it’s overdue by five minutes 59 seconds. Services more than an hour late on two occasions.

Passengers are eligible for compensation if they are delayed by an hour or more in a single journey.

Compensation criteria also exists for myki pass holders based on monthly performance.

Related: 

Mrs Wason described performance on the two services she usually frequented as ‘inconsistent’.

The train has been her primary mode of travel to and from work since October 2017.

“It’s not something you want to be doing for a long time,” Mrs Wason said.

She said delays cut into the little time commuters had at home after a workday.

In many instances, Mrs Wason noted she and her fellow passengers were not given an explanation for the delays.

She knew heat speed restrictions had affected several services in the summer months. Mrs Wason also noted congestion as a source of disruption.

“They’re pretty good at departing on time,” she said.

“Past Sunbury – that’s when all the trouble seems to happen.”

Related: Bendigo Advertiser letters to the editor: Jacinta Allan on train cancellations

The regional public transport operator has repeatedly cited shared sections of the network as a source of delays on the Bendigo line while releasing its monthly performance statistics.

V/line chair and Public Transport Victoria chief executive Jeroen Weimar said improving performance was a priority: “It’s something we take seriously.”

A total of 83.4 per cent of Bendigo services were punctual in the past 12 months, equating to 10,150 trains.

Bendigo rail patronage has increased by 10 per cent in that period.

V/Line runs almost 300 train services a week on the Bendigo line, and almost 330 services across the network each day. 

Mr Weimar said lowering the threshold for compensation could prove costly for the organisation – money he said commuters would prefer V/Line invested in improving its services.

The five minute 59 second punctuality parameter for commuter services has been in place since 1999.