V/Line have reinstated VLocity trains on two passenger services on Victoria’s Albury line, following investigations into minor dents to the outer edges of the train wheels.
V/Line took the VLocity trains out of service last week to enable extensive and thorough assessment of the issue, including undertaking inspections with the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) along the 305-kilometre stretch of track between Melbourne and Albury, as well as inspecting the train wheels.
The investigations have confirmed it is safe to return VLocity trains with ongoing additional monitoring, and that there are no significant issues and only minor damage identified.
V/Line will continue to closely monitor the trains including inspections every 48 hours where the units will be moved into our maintenance facility overnight and inspected for further wheel dents, follow up track inspections and continual analysis of data.
Investigations over the past week involved working closely with ARTC to complete extensive and thorough inspections of the entire length of the line. V/Line also completed detailed inspections on stabling and maintenance facilities and the tracks in and out of Southern Cross Station.
V/Line has also engaged the Monash Institute of Railway Technology (MIRT), the premier track and vehicle railway research centre in Australia, to assist with the investigations using specialist equipment and skills to help identify a potential cause. A test run of a VLocity train was completed on Wednesday, June 1, using the Institute’s specialist monitoring equipment, with the data, readings and videos from the test run carefully analysed.
The damage to the VLocity trains is currently limited to minor indentations on the outer edges of the wheels, varying in size but most are approximately 1-2 millimetres deep and 1-2 centimetres long. It is safe to operate trains with this level of wheel damage and we will be closely monitoring for further damage. Normal maintenance of the wheels will remove the damage in due course.
All six of the daily Albury line services have been running with trains since Thursday 2 June, operated by V/Line’s classic fleet.
V/Line chief executive officer Matt Carrick said the organisation always took a safety-first approach.
“We’ve had teams of people working around the clock on these investigations over the past week while the trains have been out of service, including bringing in specialist expertise,” he said.
“The investigations have confirmed it is safe to return VLocity trains with ongoing additional monitoring, and that there are no significant issues and only minor damage identified.
“We apologise for the service changes last week and thank passengers for their understanding as we work through the next steps.”