Tehya Hanley, 18, waited 1½ hours for the 7.05am train to roll into Chiltern, only to be told it would go no further.

Buses were two hours away, which ensured she would miss her luncheon.

“The wait was stressful,” Miss Hanley said.

“We were told there was a 10-minute delay, then 20 minutes, 30 minutes and that turned into more than an hour.

“Then the train conductor said we would have to catch buses and they were two hours away.

“I was devastated because I knew I would miss the lunch.

“If I had known from the start that the delay was going to be an hour and a half, I could have made another arrangement.”

Miss Hanley recently won a $5500 scholarship to pay for her Certificate IV in Community Services Work through Wod- onga TAFE.

The luncheon in Melbourne was a chance to meet some mentors.

The incident infuriated Miss Hanley’s grandmother Denise Rowland, who had dropped her off at the station.

“I was thinking about her enjoying the award and lunch, but she never even got there,” she said.

“She was devastated and it’s an experience she will never have.

“I am so angry that our rail system is so unreliable.”

Mrs Rowland said she is now ashamed to say she worked for V/Line years ago, selling tickets at the post office.

“It used to be a wonderful service and I was proud to be associated,” she said.

“They need to give people a more realistic timeframe of the delays, so they can arrange alternative transport if need be.”

Miss Hanley will be presented with her award in Melbourne in May, but Mrs Rowland said she would not use the V/Line service.

“I will hire a limousine and we will go in style, because at least I can ensure it will arrive on time,” Mrs Rowland said.

“That would give her something to remember forever.”

A V/Line spokesman said customers were informed of the likely delay, but because ARTC was unable to fix the signals, the journey to Chiltern took longer than anticipated.

“V/Line will never compromise on safety, so when signals fail, we must travel at a speed which enables the train to stop if there is another train ahead,” he said.

“Even though such signal faults are outside V/Line’s control, it’s no less inconvenient to our customers and we regret the delay.

“We’re reviewing our response to ensure we arrange alternative transport in a timely manner.

“We offer compensation in the form of travel vouchers to customers whose journey is delayed by 60 minutes or more.”