Re: [Vic] Incident at Nunawading

[pn1@rocketmail.com]

I arrived at Heatherdale to catch the 0706 up (0647 ex-Lilydale). There
were more passengers than usual and it soon became clear that something
was wrong. Now that the station is de-staffed, there is no one to ask
but one enterprising passenger used the red customer information button
and was told that there had been an accident (suicide?) involving an
earlier train. This person was told the public address system at
Heatherdale was not working so no announcements could be made. Another
passenger managed to call Hillside Trains from the public phone on the
down platform and was told there would be no trains until further
notice. Hillside Trains should have a 1800 number for people to call
from stations - as a backup to the red button system and when the
speakers on the station are defective. There was no suggestion of any
replacement buses; how many would be available anyway at 0715 on a
weekday morning? About a dozen people caught the 742 bus to glen
Waverley leaving Heatherdale about 0750 and arriving about 0825, in
good time to catch the 0829 up. (The bus trip was very slow because of
the heavy peak hour traffic and the number of students paying cash
fares!)This train was crowded and apologies were made for the
cancellation of the previous service.

A friend of mine who was stranded at Ringwood caught a V/Line bus to
Box Hill but, like me, was 1.5 hours later than he expected. Another
colleague drove to Surrey Hills and got into town not much later than
normal.

One would hope that the new private operators of Hillside Trains will
have better contingency plans for these disruptions which, I must say,
aren't all that common these days. We live in a car-oriented city and
commuters seem to have a very limited knowledge of the public transport
and alternative options that might be available in times of disruption.

Staff also need to be better informed of alternative transport
facilities. This was clearly evident during a disruption in the city
loop last week. The people on the barriers can take a very heavy handed
approach to customers who have problems with Metcard, citing all the
rules and regulations, but are poorly informed about their own system.
And it could get worse because a well informed private employee of
Hillside Trains for instance might not have any any knowledge of nearby
servies operated by Yarra trams - or one of the private bus companies
for that matter.

Then there is the social cost of rail-related suicides (which normally
do not get reported): the driver of the train, the passengers, the
commuters. It's a tragic situation when a person takes their own life,
especially walking in front of a train, but such tragedies have much
impact on the community in general.
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