On August 25, 2025, two carriages of a Seymour line train that was travelling to Melbourne separated from the main carriage.
The decoupling occurred between Tallarook and Seymour.
Ten passengers were on board, as well as one conductor, and no injuries were sustained.
V/Line has confirmed the cause of the incident was a train fault, but all safety management systems functioned as designed, with the train coming to a controlled stop after the decoupling.
At a recent session of Victorian Parliament, state Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland urged Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams to release a safety report detailing the investigation into the incident.
“Regional passengers deserve transparency and confidence in their public transport network, and right now, they have neither,” Ms Cleeland said.
“This was a serious safety incident, and yet the Labor government’s response has been anything but serious.
“The continued delay in releasing this report is simply not good enough.”
She said those who relied on the line were being left in the dark.
“People are entitled to know what caused this incident and what safeguards are now in place. Instead, we are seeing silence and inaction,” she said.
“If the Labor government is confident in the safety of this line, then they should have no hesitation in releasing the findings.
“Safety cannot be an afterthought. The Allan Labor government must come clean, release the report and outline exactly what has been done to protect passengers.”
A V/Line spokesperson said inspections had taken place following the incident and no ongoing safety concerns were discovered.
“All Sprinter trains underwent an inspection following this incident to ensure their safe operation on the network,” the spokesperson said.
“We have a regular maintenance program for all our trains to ensure a safe and reliable service for passengers, with trains regularly rotated out of service to complete maintenance.”
Inspections identified the decoupling as an isolated incident caused by a fault in the coupler, and repairs were conducted to the Sprinter unit involved.
The corporation’s maintenance partner also conducted an inspection of the entire Sprinter train fleet and confirmed all units coupled correctly and were fit for operation.
The Department of Transport and Planning was contacted for comment.
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