Frustration with late trains boils over Neil Walker neil@mpnews.com.au COMMUTERS travelling on the Frankston line faced frustrating service cancellations and delays during the early morning weekday peak hours of 7-9am last week. Several scheduled train services were cancelled at short notice and customers were quick to vent their anger at delays on social media. Metro Trains spokeswoman Sammie Black said an incident involving a person being struck by a train late on Monday afternoon “had a knock on effect” throughout the week. “We understand it inconveniences customers and our aim is to ensure everyone gets to their destination while delaying the smallest number possible,” Ms Black said. Delays on the Frankston line came in the same week Metro Trains was forced to ban V/Line trains from running on metropolitan and suburban tracks after a VLocity train, V/Line’s newest model, failed to trigger boom gates as it approached a Dandenong level crossing. That boom gates failure follows several such incidents on the Stony Point line last year. Metro Trains installed axle counters along the line to trigger boom gates in all cases where trains approach level crossing intersections. Wear and tear on V/Line trains’ wheels, since they travel greater distances than their metro counterparts,
are being blamed for failure to trigger boom gates. Labor Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said axle counters will now be installed at 29 level crossings across Melbourne’s railway network at a cost of $23 million. Public Transport Victoria advised The News that the Stony Point line axle counters cost $5.8 million to install last year. Metro confirmed there have been no boom gate incidents since July when the axle counters were installed. The premier Daniel Andrews blamed V/Line for the cancellation of train services across the network last week citing a “failure to adequately prepare for increased regional services – including a failure to plan for additional trackgreasing – which has led to an escalated rate of wearing on the wheels of VLocity carriages”. “This lack of preparation has led to the cancellation of train services across the network – an unacceptable and avoidable situation that has frustrated thousands of regional commuters,” Mr Andrews said in a statement last Wednesday. He said all travel on V/Line services will be free until Sunday 31 January “as a small acknowledgement of the frustration recent service disruptions have caused”. The Labor state government has pledged to remove 50 level crossings, including the separation of road and rail at 11 crossings along the Frankston line.
Ground of honour: Leanne Gomm and funeral director Ted Bull lead the funeral procession for her husband Murray Gomm through a guard of honour at Somerville Football Oval on Monday. Picture: Gary Sissons
Honour guard pops farewell toast A GUARD of honour was the focus of hundreds of mourners for businessman Murray Gomm at Somerville Football Oval, Monday. The cortege did a lap of the oval – with the 40-strong guard popping cans of beer to toast the man whose family built the Somerville hotel and ran it for many years. Ted Bull, of Ted Bull Funerals, said Mr Gomm oversaw the hotel’s smorgasbord which was “the best meal in town with queues out the door”. Mr Gomm, 60, had been in good health until being diagnosed with colorectal cancer in December 2014. Wife of 30 years, Leanne, said her husband was “born and bred” in Hast-
ings and Somerville and had the area’s history flowing through his veins: he was reportedly the great-grandson of the first white woman born in Somerville. “We met at the hotel all those years ago and our families were friends,” she said. “He was a lovely husband.” Mr Gomm – as did his pioneer family – lived his whole life in the district, following in his father’s footsteps in running the hotel, and later breeding racehorses at Orkney Farm, corner Eramosa and Coolart roads. He was president of the Somerville Football Club and a committee member of the Somerville Cricket Club, and regarded as fine player, official and all-round tireless worker for
the club since 1967. An extract from genealogy website Familytreecircles said Mr Gomm was “merely following a family tradition” in supporting the club. In April 2010 it quipped: “The Gomm family has had a constant presence at the Somerville Football Club since the club was born in the 1890s, with Murray's father, grandfather and countless other family members heavily influential in the club's development. “Congratulations Murray on being named this week’s Bendigo Bank Local Footy Hero.” Mr Gomm leaves a daughter by a previous marriage, Belinda, 39, and a son, Riley, 18. Steve Taylor
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