Rail experts also fear the same compromised outcome is possible with the rail projects Mr Hannett co-ordinates now, in which prudent forward planning is sacrificed to the short-term imperative to complete work on time and within budget. Key cost-cutting changes to the original Regional Rail Link design overseen by Mr Hannett, that have since backfired, include: The decision to use an existing rail flyover at North Melbourne instead of building a new one. The flyover's tight curves are suspected of contributing to the excessive wheel wear that has grounded one-third of V/Line's VLocity carriages and crippled country rail services for several weeks.

Removing plans for a rail flyover in Deer Park, thereby creating a conflict point between Geelong and Ballarat line trains. The choke point contributed to a dramatic collapse in performance on the Ballarat line after the Regional Rail Link opened, and will add many millions to the cost of future plans to boost rail services to Melton.

Leaving in place three level crossings in Deer Park, which have created heavy road congestion since June. The "scope adjustments" were made in 2010 when Attorney-General Martin Pakula​ was public transport minister in the former Brumby government, and signed off by former Baillieu government transport minister Terry Mulder in April 2011, documents released to The Age under freedom-of-information laws show. The link was funded with $3.2 billion from the former Rudd government and $1.1 billion from the Brumby government, but ultimately cost $3.65 billion. Much of the saving was returned to Canberra, which redirected the funds to country highway upgrades.

Tim Fischer, the former deputy prime minister under John Howard, called the decision to skimp on the original design a disgrace, lamenting that billions had been spent on a rail line that introduced a new bottleneck for V/Line trains. "What happened at Deer Park West is one of the biggest modern disgraces of commuter rail in Victoria," Mr Fischer said. He said some V/Line train drivers had labelled the new rail junction "Choke Point Charlie". Beyond Deer Park, the Ballarat line branches off from the Regional Rail Link and runs via a single track to Melton, Melbourne's fourth fastest-growing municipality. Its 130,000 residents rely on a sparse V/Line rail service, and Public Transport Victoria plans to duplicate the line in the next few years so it can handle many more trains. But the decision to leave a choke point at Deer Park will increase the cost of that project. Infrastructure expert Bill Russell, a sometimes adviser to the Andrews government on rail, said the decision to ignore the future needs of Melton travellers was in keeping with a regrettable pattern of failure to plan for future growth in Victoria.

"These kinds of projects need to be future-proofed in the context of Melbourne's population doubling and the failure to do that is one of the reasons for the trouble on the Ballarat line," Mr Russell said. Mr Russell is a member of a group of transport experts, some of whom remain involved in government transport projects, who are pushing for the Cranbourne-Pakenham line to be expanded from two tracks to four as part of the current project to remove nine level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong. The Andrews government is expected to announce its design for the upgrade within weeks. Mr Russell said the need for two extra tracks for express and V/Line trains was inevitable and should not be deferred. "We should learn the lessons from the other side of Melbourne, that population growth requires rapid growth in rail infrastructure and we must facilitate that, not obstruct it," he said.

A department spokesman replied that the Regional Rail Link was built to separate regional and metropolitan trains.



"The removal of the level crossings between Deer Park and Sunshine and construction of a flyover at Sunshine were not required to meet these objectives," the spokesman said.



These measures would be considered for the potential future duplication and electrification of the rail line to Melton. Design for the Caulfield to Dandenong level crossing removals would allow for four tracks, which PTV forecasts could be needed by 2030, he said. Clarification The Age reported on Wednesday that Corey Hannett, former chief executive of the Regional Rail Link Authority, made a series of scope reductions to that project in 2010 that have contributed to the current V/Line rail crisis. Mr Hannett did not make the scope changes. The decision was made by the Department of Transport and approved by V/Line, Metro Trains and the state government. The Age regrets the error.