Train services will be again disrupted on the Gippsland line for eight weeks, from this Thursday.
Due to the Gippsland line upgrade works, and other project works, coaches will replace trains on the Traralgon and Bairnsdale lines for all or part of the journey from this Thursday night until August 13.
A number of timetables will operate throughout the period, rotating through different day and night schedules.
Once completed, the Gippsland line upgrade will enable extra trains to run giving passengers more travel options.
The disruptions have been criticised by Member for Eastern Victoria Region Melina Bath who said West Gippsland V/Line passengers have had their public transport downgraded because the Allan government had not funded a full bus replacement service to the city.
V/Line passengers travelling from Traralgon will be bused to East Pakenham where they must catch a metro train to the city until metro tunnel and testing work is completed.
In a small concession, passengers on the Bairnsdale service will be bused directly to Southern Cross Station.
Ms Bath has been calling for the reinstatement of buses for all Gippsland passengers to Southern Cross Station.
Ms Bath said people were fed up with the substandard V/Line rail service which will be shut for two months beginning this week.
"Labor's half-baked bus replacements are totally inadequate – it impacts workers and students and is particularly challenging for the elderly and people with reduced mobility.
"The 200 metre walk from East Pakenham bus interchange to the train station through parkland is exposed to cold and wet winter weather.
"A commute that should take two hours, takes over three and a half.
"In 2024 V/Line's punctuality was only 78.5 per cent, while the latest data released for April 2025 is 80.7 per cent – a country mile from the expected 92 per cent.
"Gippslanders deserve reliable, punctual public transport, yet for 10 years they have been left waiting," she said.
The works will complete and commission the line's new signalling system, so trains can run more often and more reliably.
To complete the new signalling system, crews will carry out various works along the line including installing cabling and trackside signalling equipment between Drouin and Traralgon.
Once completed, the Gippsland line upgrade will deliver services every 40 minutes along the Traralgon line.