“There’s no toilets, you have no idea how long it’s going to take - I’ve seen people vomit from anxiety and motion sickness,” she said. Passengers commuting between Traralgon and Melbourne along the Gippsland line had to catch the V/Line train to Pakenham station and then board a replacement bus that would travel along the Monash Freeway to the CBD. It was the same on the journey home - first a bus through peak-hour gridlock on the Monash, then a V/Line service. There were often lengthy wait times between the bus and train services. While V/Line asked passengers to allow an extra 60 minutes’ travel time for the disruptions, commuters said the delays blew out, prompting some to stay in the city, away from home, during the week.

Disruptions on the line spanned from January 30 to February 14, as work continued to remove nine level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong. Transport Minister Jacinta Allan has now asked the transport department to investigate the delays. The disjointed commute promoted Warragul mother Karen Freeman to look into accommodation options for her 16-year-old daughter, a student at the Australian Ballet School in Southbank. “We’ve had to look at new arrangements that we really can’t afford,” she said. “If this happens again, I don’t know what we’ll do.” Kathryn Hamilton, a nurse educator at the Royal Children's Hospital who has commuted daily from Warragul since 2009, said the delays were so tiresome she stayed in the CBD to ensure she was not late for work.

“The disruptions are making me an unreliable employee if I want to live at home,” she said.

“I have to stay with family in Melbourne - that’s the reality.” Phillip Parsons worked from home for several days during the disruptions, saying V/line did not take enough precautions. “Several aspects of planning were not taken into account,” the construction company design manager said. “Shutting down the line pushed everyone onto the road network … [and] roadworks on the Monash Freeway were on at the same time.” When asked what could have been done better, he said one bus service from the station to the city would have been better than the “disjointed commute” passengers faced.

Ms Hamilton started a petition calling on the state government and V/Line to improve their communication and services. The petition has gained over 400 signatures from V/Line commuters on the Gippsland service so far and will be sent to Premier Daniel Andrews, Jacinta Allan and MP Garry Blackwood, and V/Line chief executive James Pinder. Mr Pinder acknowledged there was “room for improvement,” noting that extended delays were often caused by traffic conditions on the Monash Freeway. He said the company would be working to better communicate service changes to passengers. “We know service changes can be frustrating and we thank passengers for their patience while these important works are being completed,” he said.

Normal scheduling has since resumed on the Gippsland line, but regular commuters are concerned the V/Line service is worsening. The Gippsland line currently has the worst punctuality record for all short distance V/Line services at 75.3 per cent. Ms Thorne has created community Facebook page Gippsland V/Line Users Group to address the issue. When she moved to the area in 2009, V/Line offered a flagship service to the CBD which was downgraded that same year. “It took an hour and twenty minutes - I thought it would get quicker, but the travel time keeps getting extended,” she said.