UPDATE, 11.30am: A south-west MP has blasted the state transport minister for being out of touch with Warrnambool line customers.
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On radio this morning Minister for Public Transport Melissa Horne said in relation to another round of poor V/Line performance data that passenger satisfaction was growing.
"Most of our lines are increasing in their performance and this is terrific news for passengers," she was reported as saying.
South West Coast MP Roma Britnell took the minister to task.
"The minister has once again shown her ignorance to the issues faced by Warrnambool line customers, who regularly deal with cancelled trains and lengthy delays caused by a seemingly never ending run of train faults," Ms Britnell said.
"But, according to Minister Horne, the satisfaction of customers is growing - despite the fact Warrnambool line trains have failed to meet punctuality targets for nine out of 10 months this year and have only exceeded targets just 12 times in the past decade.
"Perhaps Minister Horne should come to the south-west and listen to the people who are regularly speaking with me about their dissatisfaction with the rail service."
Ms Britnell said the minister had shown she was out of touch with the real concerns of passengers.
"It's very easy to make comments like this from the comfort of her Melbourne office when you're not engaging with the frustrated people who are continually delayed by an archaic rail service," Ms Britnell said.
Earlier: Half of the state's V/Line services have failed to meet their punctuality targets every month for the past two years, a new analysis of data by the state's opposition shows.
Warrnambool has failed to meet punctuality targets for 22 of the past 24 months.
Commuters on five lines - Bendigo, Gippsland, Ararat/Maryborough, Albury-Wodonga and Bairnsdale - have been late every month since September 2017, while Ballarat commuters were on time just one month out of 24.
The Bendigo, Gippsland and Ararat lines have not run on time for three years, while the Bairnsdale train hasn't been on time since at least August 2014.
V/Line performance figures show 89.6 per cent of Warrnambool line trains ran on-time in September, down more than two per cent from the month before.
It's the ninth time this year the service has failed to hit V/Line's punctuality target of 92 per cent.
The target is measured on time to 10 minutes 59 seconds. The Warrnambool service has exceeded that target just 12 times in the past decade.
Information received from V/Line revealed five late trains made the difference between the Warrnambool line hitting or missing its 92 per cent target last month.
Performance was impacted by a power outage at Geelong's North Shore on September 21, causing level crossings to operate continually.
A train fault on September 9 and a fallen power line at South Geelong on September 19 also contributed to delays.
The punctuality result is a one per cent improvement compared to the same time last year.
For reliability, 96.2 per cent of trains arrived at their destination in September, above the 96 per cent monthly target.
A V/Line spokesman said there was still improvement to be made.
"We'll keep working hard to provide the best possible service for our Warrnambool line passengers," he said.
Opposition spokeswoman for regional public transport and deputy leader of The Nationals Steph Ryan said worsening problems meant it was impossible for commuters to have confidence in Victoria's rail network.
"Daniel Andrews has found billions to put into Melbourne level crossing blowouts, while country passengers continue to miss out," Ms Ryan said.
"Labor is ignorant of the thousands of Victorians who are inconvenienced on a daily basis by delays, breakdowns and cancellations.
"V/Line punctuality is getting worse, not better, because the Andrews Labor Government refuses to make the investments needed to make our regional trains run on time."
The state government invested just four per cent of the capital funding for public transport in this year's sate budget into regional Victoria this year.
The Department of Transport says V/Line will pay compensation to passengers for falling short of their targets on some individual lines.
Compensation is provided in the form of a complimentary day return ticket.
For delays of 60 minutes or more, compensation will depend on the journey travelled for eligible customers.
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