The Albury to Melbourne train service on Monday night took more than six hours to complete when a major delay was encountered in re-opening the track following a three-day works blitz on the trouble-plagued North-East line.
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The V/Line train which left Albury at 6.15pm finally pulled into Southern Cross at 12.34am with passengers forced to endure an hour long stop at Wangaratta station.
The track was meant to re-open at 6pm on Monday, but the all clear wasn't given until 8.52pm due to a delay in bringing signalling systems back online.
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"We had a successful annual maintenance shutdown in North-East Victoria over the weekend and ARTC would like to thank the community for its patience while these important works were delivered," Victorian general manager projects Ed Walker said.
"We would also like to apologise for the impact on two V/Line services yesterday evening."
V/Line arranged for buses and taxis at Benalla for people who wanted to use them with two passengers left on the train when it pulled into Southern Cross after midnight, more than two hours later than originally scheduled.
"Our Albury services experienced very long delays on Monday night due to unplanned disruptions resulting from ARTC completing signalling and track upgrades in the Violet Town area," a V/Line spokesperson said.
"We provided alternative travel options where possible to minimise delay, including coaches and taxis.
"Food and drinks were also available to people onboard.
"These types of delays are extremely disappointing and we are sorry our passengers faced such long waits."
The 6.15pm Albury train departed before ARTC informed V/Line of the likely delay which meant the service was unable to turn back.
The Melbourne to Albury service the same night left Southern Cross at 6.02pm and was terminated at Seymour where passengers were switched to buses.
Works carried out on the North-East line between Saturday and Monday included installation of crossovers at Violet Town and Longwood, 33km of tamping works between Benalla and Albury and commissioning of a new siding at Benalla.
In an unrelated incident, a faulty level crossing between Wodonga and Wangaratta put the track out of action for the Southern Cross to Albury and Albury to Southern Cross services yesterday.
Northbound passengers had their train trip terminated at Wangaratta and southbound travellers had to start their trip at Wangaratta.
Buses were supplied for the section between Albury and Wangaratta.
