Vandals derail commuter plans

EARLY bird and peak hour commuters were faced with huge delays this morning after vandals caused damage to vital V/Line signalling equipment.
V/Line announced that vandals had cut a fibre-optic link near Drouin in the early hours.
More than 40 coaches were used to ferry the 1700 commuters between Traralgon and Melbourne.
V/Line chief executive Theo Taifalos said the deliberate damage was frustrating for customers and V/Line.
“Nobody wants to start their Monday like this, so I really feel the frustration experienced by our customers this morning,” Mr Taifalos said.
“All acts of vandalism are senseless, but in this case it was also a costly exercise with all peak hour trains needing to be replaced by coaches. I’d like to thank our customers for their patience this morning while technicians worked to restore the line.”
The issue was revealed before V/Line’s first train was scheduled to leave Traralgon at 4.31am and the damage was repaired in time to run the 9.10am train from Traralgon to Melbourne.
Anyone with any information on this morning’s incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, and anyone who witnesses the destruction of or interference with railway equipment at any time is urged to contact local police or call Triple-zero.