V/Line’s unwanted honour had been shared between Warrnambool and Gippsland for most of 2016, but the latest figures for September showed a changing of the guard.

Just 78.5 per cent of trains on the Albury line ran on time last month.

The line also remained Victoria’s worst for overall services being delivered, but September’s figure of 96.1 per cent was an improvement on just 87.1 per cent in August.

Border Rail Action Group chairman Bill Traill said the region’s wet winter and spring was always going to cause problems on a rail line which desperately needed improvements.

“It’s fulfilled its promise on that,” he said.

“It’s always disappointing to respond to figures of that sort of order (showing train delays), but it’s not surprising.”

Information gathered from the rail action group found about 18 locations subject to speed restrictions between Albury and Melbourne.

“That’s a lot more than was there at the start of this wet season,” Mr Traill said.

“Some of the mud holes close to Albury-Wodonga, you don’t have to go far to see them … it’s frightening to think that any trains have to go over them.”

He said the Border last experienced serious floods six years ago, so it was a problem frequent enough for trains to have to withstand.

The rail action group, local councils and state politicians in a new partnership will look for answers around the delays when they meet with V/Line representatives in Wangaratta on Friday.

Benambra MLA Bill Tilley said he had questions around the patronage on the Albury line and the state of the track.

“We need to ensure the federal government and the ARTC are providing good infrastructure,” he said.

But Mr Tilley said he would wait to get those answers on Friday before making any comments about September’s train delays.

The Swan Hill and Echuca line was the envy of frustrated commuters across the state, with the most September services on-time at 96.4 per cent.

Mr Traill said a private consortium’s interest in a realigned freight route through Shepparton to Narrandera, instead of coming through the Border, could be a “game-changer”.

He said the poor condition of the Albury line’s track had major economic consequences for freight as well as V/Line passengers, but any development to lighten the load had to fulfill promises for everyone.

“It’s got to be done right,” Mr Traill said.