At the end of April, 111,900 passenger trips had been recorded between Winchelsea and Warrnambool. At the same time last year, about 126,000 trips had been taken, with 127,000 in 2015.

V/Line did not provide explanations for the drop.

This financial year, speed restrictions resulting from a collision between a truck and train at Pirron Yallock last July in part led to record-low punctuality rates, with just 12.6 per cent of services running on time in January.

V/Line spokeswoman Catalina Filip said people embraced new services introduced at the end of January, with 1800 passengers using them each week.

“A new timetable can take some time to bed down, and we expect people to use services that best suit their travel needs,” she said.

Ms Filip said $10 million level crossing upgrades due to be finished by the end of the year would boost safety and return services to timetable.

At the end of April the state government announced a $100 million upgrade for the line, but it relied on money from the Port of Melbourne lease through the federal government’s asset recycling scheme, which remains in dispute between the state and federal governments.

Public Transport Users Association regional spokesman Paul Westcott said it was difficult to know what caused the drop, but it was logical that the unreliability of the service was a factor.