Oh oh, the work experience kid has been left in charge at V/Line comms again

"The 17:26 Southern Cross - Bendigo service will terminate early at Bendigo and no longer run to Bendigo"

Yer what now?

Oh oh, the work experience kid has been left in charge at V/Line comms again

"The 17:26 Southern Cross - Bendigo service will terminate early at Bendigo and no longer run to Bendigo"

Yer what now?

It is school holidays!

Back on the rails for the first time in a couple of weeks. While I fully understand the reason for the bustitutions over the past 2 weeks one thing really puzzles me

A couple of times I limped off the coach at Castlemaine arriving an hour later than normal only to be greeted with the tell tale sound of a Vlocity horn as a Down Empty Cars service strolled through the station

I know there must be (or could be) a logical explanation why V/Line chose to run only AM Up and PM Down peak services but could someone enlighten me as to why the returning sets couldn't have taken passengers wishing to travel counter-peak like me?

Crew hours? CBF? Something else? I would love to know

Maybe last year's intake of trainee drivers are being trained (with me left behind)?

Oh oh, the work experience kid has been left in charge at V/Line comms again

"The 17:26 Southern Cross - Bendigo service will terminate early at Bendigo and no longer run to Bendigo"

Yer what now?

Hey, it's a change from the usual incomprehensible gibberish and crackles.  The last time I traveled with V/Line one bloke commented, "They'd be better off hiring the Swedish Chef to do the announcements.  At least you can understand 1 word in 10 when he's talking."

Back on the rails for the first time in a couple of weeks. While I fully understand the reason for the bustitutions over the past 2 weeks one thing really puzzles me

A couple of times I limped off the coach at Castlemaine arriving an hour later than normal only to be greeted with the tell tale sound of a Vlocity horn as a Down Empty Cars service strolled through the station

I know there must be (or could be) a logical explanation why V/Line chose to run only AM Up and PM Down peak services but could someone enlighten me as to why the returning sets couldn't have taken passengers wishing to travel counter-peak like me?

Crew hours? CBF? Something else? I would love to know

Even I know what 'CBF' means especially when related to Vline.

Trains resuming tomorrow on all lines (except where works are occurring): https://www.vline.com.au/Service-Changes/Unplanned-Disruption-Webpages/2021/Sep/Monday-27-September-Train-Services-Resume

Not an incident or an interruption but I thought that instead of starting a new thread I would post this question here

As I have noted previously the current V/Line time table for the Bendigo line has 2 afternoon Up services running quite close together. The Up Swan Hill departs Castlemaine at 16.28 in theory and the following all stopping V/Locity service is timetabled to leave 21 minutes later at 16.49

Today the Swanners was held at CME for more than 5 minutes waiting to cross a late running Down Echuca (Bendigo) service. Once both had departed I watched the PIDS and the Up departure signal with interest to see what would happen

Normally when there is another cross at the next loop near North Harcourt the Up departure signal changes to Clear Normal Speed 5 minutes or so after the Down service departs indicating that the cross has occured and that the road is set for the Up train

Today the stick seemed to stay Red over Red for a fair while longer which made me wonder

a - How far it is to the next section on the Up after departing Castlemaine and

b - Is it possible for the following service to be cleared to CME and then held there to wait for the proceeding service to clear said section if they

Any input from the usual suspects would be welcome, not life altering I know but just a point of interest for me

a - How far it is to the next section on the Up after departing Castlemaine and  

The next section in the UP direction from Castlemaine is at Elphinstone which is roughly 12 kilometers away. On the DOWN its Ravenswood loop (passing lane) just over the top of Porcupine Hill which is also roughly 12 kilometers away.

b - Is it possible for the following service to be cleared to CME and then held there to wait for the proceeding service to clear said section if they

Looks like you left a bit of the sentence off there Brenton but if i'm reading it right then yes, the train controller can signal a follow on move as soon as the first train arrives within station limits at Castlemaine. Once the first train departs Castlemaine into the next section then the following train can be brought into the platform but can't proceed into the next section until the first train has cleared it.

Normally when there is another cross at the next loop near North Harcourt the Up departure signal changes to Clear Normal Speed 5 minutes or so after the Down service departs indicating that the cross has occured and that the road is set for the Up train

The UP home departure is independent of any down trains or crosses etc at Ravenswood loop, what you're seeing is most likely just the train controller setting up the sections Ravenswood to Elphinstone (or further) in one go. They could place the UP departure to proceed as soon as the down train arrived at Castlemaine if they wanted to but that would require an extra couple of clicks of the mouse!

b - Is it possible for the following service to be cleared to CME and then held there to wait for the proceeding service to clear said section if they

Looks like you left a bit of the sentence off there Brenton but if i'm reading it right then yes, the train controller can signal a follow on move as soon as the first train arrives within station limits at Castlemaine. Once the first train departs Castlemaine into the next section then the following train can be brought into the platform but can't proceed into the next section until the first train has cleared it.

Thanks @jakar, dependable and informative as always. I did think after re-reading what I had written that it might not have been as clear as it could but you have nailed it

Re the above are you saying that the following train would be cleared into the section but then held outside of the down end station limits until the first service had departed?

Does this mean that they don't (looking for the right word there) run say the first service into 1 road and then the following train into 2 road? Assuming of course there was no cross of an opposing service

I have seen this done once but it was a case where the Up Swanners was declared a fail at CME and arrived into 2 road followed a little while later by the following V/Locity service which arrived into 1 road and took all pax on to their destinations. That was pre covid and to say the service was crowded would be an understatement!!!

Re the above are you saying that the following train would be cleared into the section but then held outside of the down end station limits until the first service had departed?

Does this mean that they don't (looking for the right word there) run say the first service into 1 road and then the following train into 2 road? Assuming of course there was no cross of an opposing service  

As soon as the single line section is cleared by the first train a following service can be sent through. Usually the first service is long gone before the following arrives but if for some reason the first service was unable to depart the train controller can definitely bring the following service into the other platform.

If the second platform was also occupied the train controller can bring the following train to the home arrival signal and either let it wait until the first service departs or room permitting bring it onto the platform behind the first service using the low speed caution.

In reality the latter would probably never happen and the following service would be held at either Elphinstone or Ravenswood loop depending on direction of travel until a platform was available so as not to cause grid lock or inhibit access for a rescue loco etc if required.

The PM Up Swan Hill was running a few minutes late for the cross at Castlemaine this afternoon which meant I made it with seconds to spare and boy, am I glad I did!

I don't want to jinx it but this is one of the best loco hauled trips I have had. We are currently speeding towards Sunbury pretty much bang on time, the trip has been smooth, fast (has felt like full line speed all the way so far) and thoroughly enjoyable

It's funny to think that most people on this or any train trip have no idea about this kind of stuff whereas I am tuned in to every sight, sound and movement. A sensory pleasure!

***edit, party's over, copped a reduced aspect before Calder Park. Bloody Metro ruining the fun again!***

The PM Up Swan Hill was running a few minutes late for the cross at Castlemaine this afternoon which meant I made it with seconds to spare and boy, am I glad I did!

I don't want to jinx it but this is one of the best loco hauled trips I have had. We are currently speeding towards Sunbury pretty much bang on time, the trip has been smooth, fast (has felt like full line speed all the way so far) and thoroughly enjoyable

It's funny to think that most people on this or any train trip have no idea about this kind of stuff whereas I am tuned in to every sight, sound and movement. A sensory pleasure!

***edit, party's over, copped a reduced aspect before Calder Park. Bloody Metro ruining the fun again!***

Can't beat a loco hauled N set especally f you are in 1st class.

Both AM Swan Hill services have been cancelled this morning. The Down was the first to get the chop due to 'an earlier emergency services request further down the line' with pax advised to get a South Geelong Service to Deer Par and then a connecting coach to Swanners.

Then 30 minutes or so later I got the message that the Up was terminating at Lake Boga so it didn't get far. I wonder if the 2 are related

Meanwhile I am on the 9.06 Down Bendigo crawling along behind a spark. V/Line really are masters of their own destiny at times, this service seemed to depart Southern Cross on time however by the time it arrived into Footscray it was 4-5 minutes late.

I got that sinking feeling as we rounded the curve after the SG flyover at reduced speed - this can mean that we are waiting for an Up Geetroit / Ballarat service to clear the at grade junction or it can mean a long crawl to Sunbury.

Of course the Metro controller would have had their hand wavering over the keyboard ready for just such an eventuality and the path was given to the spark.

*** edit, we never made up the time lost in the Metro area and our train arrived into CME around 12 minutes late I think, routed into P2 as it needed to make a cross here due to the late running. When I left the station around 5 minutes later our train was still in 2 road waiting for the cross, would have been 20 minutes late by this stage

Just goes to show what a difference a few minutes can make!!!

I wonder if the 2 are related

Yep, a non-rail related incident required police to close the line for a couple of hours at Kerang.

I always do find it amusing how Metro won't delay their trains in your situation but will happily delay revenue V/Line services for test trains and driver training purposes.

And like clockwork the VLine network grinds to a complete halt on the same day that Regional Vic and Melbourne divide comes down.

And like clockwork the VLine network grinds to a complete halt on the same day that Regional Vic and Melbourne divide comes down.

Very confusing - the website says all trains on the Bendigo line are replaced by Road Coaches yet also says

"Service update - Bendigo line
The 07:40 Southern Cross - Swan Hill service will operate without buffet facilities today. Please consider purchasing food/beverages prior to departure. We apologise for the delay to your journey.

Sunbury line still shut.  At this rate no one will be leaving Plague Town by train tonight...

Sunbury line still shut.  At this rate no one will be leaving Plague Town by train tonight...

Sunbury still showing as suspended but V/Line app says 16.49 Up is running with 2 x VL sets!

Gonna be an interesting trip methinks!

Several Metro (and VLine) services still suspended more than 24 hours later. Must be one of the longest disruptions in PTV history.

Ironically on the same weekend that the regional/Metro divide is removed.

Must have been a tough year for the V/Line comms team so they have started the Chrissy Hols early and left the kids in charge. Again.

"The 13:37 Swan Hill - Southern Cross service will terminate at Bendigo and no longer Swan Hill. Passengers travelling beyond Bendigo can board the 16:26 Bendigo - Southern Cross service to complete their journey. We apologise for the delay to your journey. [15:21 05/11]"

Now I know that there are smarter minds than mine in charge at V/Line - they must be, right, they get paid the big bucks. And I'm sure one of our resident insiders (I'm looking at you @jakar) will give us the good oil. But on the face of it what has happened to my service this afternoon makes no sense.

The PM Up Swan Hill was canned at Bendigo with all pax beyond the Go told to board the following service (16.26 Up Bendigo). So I waited patiently at Castlemaine with 40 or so of my fellow travellers as the service appeared on the Pids. 20 mins, 19, 19, 19, Beuller, Bueller, 18, 18, 17, Fry, Fry, Fry. By now running over 7 minutes behind schedule for no reason I could see.

Next the unmistakable sound of an N Class horn as the Swanners hove into view and then with a couple of longer blows on the horn she blasted through the platform as fast as anything I have seen go through Castlemaine.

Meanwhile our service is sitting somewhere up the line (North Harcourt Loop I presume) losing even more time. By the time she arrived and we all boarded the service was 10 minutes late after just 2 stops.

The thing I don't understand is why you would run an empty cars movement ahead of a revenue service which has the result of making said service late. What are they trying to do, get the N class into Southern Cross on time so they don't get fined for late running even though there are no pax on board?

It beggars belief.

Anyhoo happily making up a few minutes now heading towards Kyneton, no doubt the opposing down service will be sitting in P2 waiting for us to clear the single line and losing time itself into the bargain.

Aye Chihuahua.......

I believe the empty Swanner is still carrying the original train number and be surveyed as a delivered service.

I believe the empty Swanner is still carrying the original train number and be surveyed as a delivered service.

Great effort all! Meanwhile of course we missed our slot into Sunbury and are now crawling towards Diggers behind a spark so this service (with it's own pax plus already inconvenienced Up Swan Hill passengers) has no hope of arriving on time into Southern Cross.

Never let passengers get in the way of running a railway eh V/Line!!!

Never let passengers get in the way of running a railway eh V/Line!!!

What about when passengers cause the delays?

Locked external doors were forced open by a passenger mid section which caused the conductor to red light the train and request police to attend.