Melbourne train lines experienced significant delays on Tuesday after vandals destroyed communication and power cables.
Commuters face a long ride home after vandals meddled with cables that power the Cranbourne and Pakenham train lines.
Three hundred cables supplying power and communications to the city’s rail network were chopped near Sandown Park railway station overnight, causing delays throughout Tuesday.
Chris Miller of the Victorian Department of Transport told 3AW the vandals had not only caused hour-long delays for commuters, but repairing the damage is likely to carry a significant cost to taxpayers.
“Thousands and thousands of dollars worth of damage,” estimated Mr Miller, when asked how much it would cost txjmtzywhe government to replace the damaged cables.
The Cranbourne and Pakenham lines have been suspended since this morning and buses have replaced train routes.
It is still unknown what the vandals’ motivations were for cutting the cables, but the Department of Transport told 3AW they may have been extracting copper.
“We know there were a lot of people disrupted this morning and for that, we really do apologise,” said Mr Miller.
Public transport saw a 12 per cent increase in commuters in the last week, up to 52 per cent of pre-Covid times.
The Department of Transport recommends travellers try to travel from other stations on these train lines such as Glen Waverley or Frankston stations. Alternatively, Route 901 and 902 buses can transport you from affected train lines and onto the right track.
