By Kyra Gillespie
Gippsland passengers will be reimbursed for travel on Thursday afternoon and Friday after a construction contractor accidentally damaged the underground cables between Nar Nar Goon and Pakenham.
The Gippsland line was suspended and coaches replaced trains just after 3pm on Thursday 24 May as a result of the third-party damage to a signalling cable at the site adjacent to the rail corridor.
The fault was rectified just prior to 9pm, however coaches continued to replace all trains on Thursday night, due to trains being out of position.
The incident did not impact any metropolitan rail services.
“This was an unfortunate accident and we apologise to Gippsland line passengers for the disruption to their travel,” said PTV CEO Jeroen Weimar.
“We have spoken to the contractor, they have apologised and as a sign of good-will offered to compensate passengers on the Gippsland line,” he said.
V/Line passengers will be reimbursed for travel on the Gippsland line from midday Thursday and all-day Friday.
“Our teams worked hard on Thursday night to fix the issue and we are glad that trains can resume on Friday,” said Mr Weimar.
“We have asked for a review into the incident and sought assurances that this will not happen again,” he said.
To receive the reimbursement, passengers travelling along the Gippsland line will need to touch on at myki enabled stations at the beginning and end of their journey or carry a paper ticket as usual.
Reimbursements can then be claimed on the PTV website, in person at a station or via the PTV call centre on 1800 800 007.
Further information is available at ptv.vic.gov.au
