Sunk: The sinkhole, approximately 180cm deep and 305cm wide, has caused a partial closure of the Gippsland rail line. Image: Supplied.
V/Line is working to repair a sinkhole at Darnum which partially closed the Gippsland railway line after heavy rain on the weekend.
Spokesperson Clare Steele told The Warragul Citizen one track is still operational, but busses are replacing trains for some services.
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“Basically it’s a great big hole that probably goes down about six feet (183cm) and is probably about 10 foot (305cm) across right near the rail line,” Ms Steele said.
“Now we can still operate trains on one of the rail lines, there’s still track there, but it’s too close to the second track.”
“We’re running a lot of trains through [to Traralgon] and some trains are running to Warragul and then bussing from Warragul to Traralgon.”
Workers are filling in the hole and repairs are expected to be completed tomorrow.
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Ms Steele said the area is prone to flooding.
“That area does seem to be more susceptible to the flooding, so we’ll probably need to look at a longer term engineering solution around drainage in that area,” Ms Steele said.
V/Line has adjusted the following services until Thursday and is advising customers to check their website later in the week for details on Friday services:
To Melbourne:
A bus will replace the 08:15 Traralgon to Melbourne for the entire journey between Traralgon to Yarragon. This service will run as a train on time at 08:56 from Warragul.
From Melbourne:
The 06:28 Melbourne to Traralgon will run as a train to Warragul. Passengers will continue the rest of the journey on buses to Traralgon.
Train cancellations:
To Melbourne:
The 17:10 Traralgon to Melbourne will run as a bus for the entire journey;
The 17:51 Traralgon to Melbourne will run as a bus for the entire journey.
From Melbourne:
The 20:45 Southern Cross to Traralgon will run a bus for the entire journey.
