Defence chief surrenders in train battle

Sarah Schwager
TONY Williams believes his battles with public transport in Pakenham contributed to a nervous breakdown.
With only a short amount of time between connecting services – the Pakenhambound city train with a VLine train to his home in Bunyip – Mr Williams was often left waiting at the station for up to two and a half hours.
“My job at the Department of Defence was stressful enough as it was,” Mr Williams said.
“If the Pakenham train ran 10 minutes late I would miss my connecting train.
“I would get home at 10pm, cook dinner, get some sleep, only to get up at 4.30 the next morning.”
Mr Williams, 58, said the lack of sleep and no time to unwind combined with a high stress job and tight deadlines saw his health severely fail.
He ended up in hospital for seven weeks after having a breakdown due to stress and was forced to make the decision last year to retire early.
“I never take my car because it’s too expensive but then if the train service doesn’t come you’re up the creek without a paddle in a barbed wire canoe,” he said.
“Something needs to be done about public transport.”