Victorians, including those in Sunbury and Macedon Ranges, using V/Line trains are encouraged to check the website and familiarise themselves with extreme heat timetables, which will provide greater certainty around planning travel on very hot days.
Extra precautions are taken on extreme heat days to help ensure V/Line train services run smoothly and passengers get to their destinations safely.
V/Line chief executive Matt Carrick said heat speed restrictions were enforced on the regional network when the temperature was forecast to reach 36 degrees or above due to the steel tracks expanding in the heat.
“On these days, some services will run at slower speeds or may be replaced by coaches for all or part of the journey,” Mr Carrick said.
“Extreme heat timetables are available to give V/Line passengers the opportunity to plan their trip with confidence on really hot days, when temperatures reach 36 degrees or above.
“These timetables can be easily accessed from the V/Line website and we will be working hard to minimise disruptions on days of extreme heat to provide a safe and reliable service for passengers.”
During summer V/Line closely monitors weather forecasts and activates its extreme heat timetables across the network when necessary.
Heat can affect services across all parts of the V/Line network but extreme heat timetables are more common for trains in northern parts of the state, where temperatures tend to be hotter over summer.
Passengers can download a copy of the extreme heat timetable for their line at vline.com.au.
On extreme heat days, passengers are encouraged to visit the V/Line website, app and X (Twitter) feed, and listen to announcements onboard and at stations on whether extreme heat timetables are in place.
V/Line trains are air conditioned, have drinking fountains available and conductors on board to assist passengers during their journeys.
On days of extreme heat, passengers are encouraged to wear cool clothing or delay travel if they’re feeling unwell.
V/Line will have extra crews on standby to respond to any incidents as quickly as possible on days of extreme heat to help minimise disruptions for passengers.
V/Line maintenance crews have already been out in force ensuring tracks and other assets are ready for the hot weather and carrying out other work including grass slashing to manage bushfire risks in the rail reserve.
