VicTrack, the taxpayer-funded body that administers rail infrastructure, has installed signs with its contact on crossings, but the 9619 1111 number fails to include the 03 area code.

That means when locals dial it they discover they have called an outlet of David Jones department store in Bondi Junction, Sydney.

Border Rail Action Group convenor Bill Traill chuckled at the blooper.

“It’s a rather obtuse way of advertising retail at Bondi Junction,” Mr Traill said.

“I suppose you could buy a Thomas the Tank Engine set while you’re calling them, but you’re not going to get on to the Fat Controller of VicTrack on that number.

“It shows VicTrack might need to better gauge which area code that Wodonga falls into and that it is part of the 02 zone.”

When contacted by The Border Mail, VicTrack communications adviser Jason Murray was unaware of the impact of omitting the area code from the signs, but he said they would be fixed.

“The lack of a Victorian area code was an oversight on our part,” Mr Murray said.

“We will organise to have the signs changed, as soon as practical.

“We thank you for bringing this to our attention.

“In the meantime, we ask people to add a 03 prefix when calling our head office telephone number.”

Mr Murray did not say how much the signs cost.

Six of them have been installed on the side of brick pillars on bridges which cross Sangsters Road and nearby House Creek in Wodonga.

They are part of the railway line which passed through Wodonga for more than 120 years before being decommissioned when a new route from Albury across Lincoln Causeway opened in 2010.

The signs state: “In the event of an incident involving this bridge please telephone 9619 1111” before adding “For emergencies telephone 000”.