Two XPT carriages left the track only three kilometres after leaving Southern Cross Station at 8.30am.

It took two hours to evacuate the passengers and they were left waiting to catch buses to their destination.

The train was supposed to arrive in Albury at noon but passengers, on buses, arrived at 4pm.

Wodonga’s Benji Moon, who had been sceptical about using the train between Melbourne and Albury, said “I will think twice before I do it again”.

A passenger, who did not wish to be named, said the situation could have been avoided.

“We had to wait for the train from Sydney to Melbourne and it was seven minutes late because it had trouble getting into the station,” she said.

“This whole thing need never have happened.

“They should have checked the track before we left.

“Somebody has to do something about it.”

TWEETED SATURDAY MORNING:

​

A NSW TrainLink spokeswoman said there had been about 180 passengers on the train.

“NSW TrainLink and Sydney Trains have sent staff to Melbourne to assist Victorian authorities investigate the cause of the incident,” she said.

No one was injured in the derailment.

Wodonga’s Kirstin Ulmar, who has just returned from Europe, said the derailment was a huge inconvenience.

“It was a long trip home,” she said.

“We started travelling from Heathrow on Wednesday.

“Why talk about high-speed trains when we can’t even get the slower ones running properly?”

Ms Ulmar said she would be seeking compensation for her ticket and lunch.

“We would have been home and not had to buy lunch otherwise,” she said.

The 12.45pm service from Albury to Melbourne was replaced by a coach.

People were still able to catch the 5.20pm train from Albury but had to switch to coaches at Broadmeadows.

Passengers also travelled by coach on the midday service from Southern Cross Station to Albury.

The 6.01pm train was replaced by a coach between Southern Cross and Broadmeadows and passengers then travelled to Albury by train.

V/Line trains between Albury and Melbourne will be replaced by coaches today.