Trains have ground to a halt across regional Victoria, with services not expected to resume until after the afternoon peak amid an increasingly bitter pay war between unions and V/Line.
Friday’s stoppage is the sixth to affect the Geelong line this year and, at 13 hours, is the longest so far.
V/Line staff walked off the job at 3am and will not return until 4pm.
Taking into account the time required to restart the network, passengers are unlikely to be able to board any trains befotre 5pm and it will be several hours after that before services return to normal.
V/Line says some services have been replaced by buses but people who choose that option should be prepared for delays of more than two hours.
Meantime the war of words between V/Line and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) continues to escalate, with V/Line boss Matt Carrick hitting back at claims the organisation doesn’t care about regional Victorians.
“The only people who are being disadvantaged out of these strike actions are regional Victorians,” he said.
“If we’re putting the interests of regional Victorians first, then don’t strike. Stop striking, start talking seriously.”
But the RTBU’s Vik Sharma said V/Line is refusing to pay attention to its workforce.
“We’ve been bargaining for nine months, we made our claims very clear on day one,” he said.
“They have stopped listening to the workers.”
While roads are also likely to be even busier than usual, there is some consolation for Geelong and Wyndham drivers headed to Melbourne with additional lanes opening on the WestGate Freeway.
Geelong-bound vehicles now have six lanes instead of four, while inbound lanes have been widened between the Western Ring Road and Millers Road.
Geelong and Warrnambool lines
An extremely limited number of coaches will run between Southern Cross, Geelong and Warrnambool. Coaches will not stop at Footscray and Sunshine.
Wyndham Vale Station
A limited number of buses will run between Wyndham Vale and Werribee to connect passengers with Metro services on the Werribee Line.
Tarneit Station
A limited number of buses will run between Tarneit and Laverton to connect passengers with Metro services on the Werribee Line.
