It comes as an analysis of PTV data reveals just 50 per cent of trains on some V/Line routes arrive on time, while the regional rail network has not met its punctuality target for the past six years. V/Line train cancellations have roughly doubled to 3.7 per cent since 2015, with more than 300 Bendigo trains cancelled this year (3.2 per cent of services). On the Seymour line, 200 Seymour services were cancelled, up from about 120 in 2017 and 2016. A V/Line spokesman said there were 491 animal strikes across the network between March and October, with about two strikes per day, usually during the evening peak. While the collisions almost certainly kill the roo, they do not risk passenger safety and inflict only superficial damage to the train.

"We’re working hard to get people where they need to go each day, but unfortunately an increase in animal strikes has impacted our ability to deliver services in recent months," the spokesman said. Loading After a train hits an animal, V/Line is usually required to pull the train out of service and send it to Melbourne (without passengers) to get cleaned at maintenance facilities in South Dynon and West Melbourne. There, the train undergoes a days-long "biowash" process, where animal remains are gathered and hygienically disposed of and the train is thoroughly cleaned. The process can see the train pulled off the network for one to three days.

This leads to a backlog in the system, driving up train cancellations. It also results in a shortage of carriages, which means trains are forced to run along busy lines with less than their maximum number of carriages, a factor worsening overcrowding. From October through to this week, 695 train services (1.32 per cent of services) ran with fewer carriages. A V/Line spokesman said the organisation was planning to reduce the time that train carriages are out of service due to cleaning requirements. More maintenance facilities would help clean the rolling stock faster, while fencing in sections of the 3520km-long railway (which is mostly unfenced), could help deal with the problem.

Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said there were plans to build more maintenance and biowash facilities on the regional network. Loading But fencing for the huge railway was not an option, she said. Associate Professor in Zoology at the University of Melbourne Graeme Coulson said while there was no hard data to prove any spike in kangaroos in the state, he was aware of anecdotal evidence of a recent increase in cars hitting kangaroos. Kangaroos often gravitated to drainage near the roadways during the drier months to feed on vegetation, Mr Coulson said.