approximately a quarter of VLocity units from service after identifying unusually high rates of wear to wheel flanges. Compared to a normal rate of , Bombardier's service regime noted a maximum wear rate of . Although unusual wear patterns had been observed since December of the previous year across the V/Line fleet, V/Line CEO Theo Taifalos ordered the withdrawal of the most badly affected units for safety reasons. Meanwhile, on 15 January 2016 a VLocity set failed to activate boom gates at the Progress Street level crossing in Dandenong. This led Metro Trains to ban all sets from operating on suburban lines until the issue had been resolved. The combined restrictions on the VLocity fleet led to the daily cancellation of nearly 70 V/Line services from mid-January. By the beginning of March, Bombardier had increased its capacity to remachine affected wheels, and track identified as potentially contributing to the wheel wear situation had been reprofiled; as a consequence, VLocity units were gradually returned to service. In April, a report by the Institute of Railway Technology at Monash University identified tight curves and an inadequate track lubrication on the newly opened Regional Rail Link, particularly along the North Melbourne Flyover near North Melbourne Station, which was upgraded as part of the project as a means of allowing V/Line services to access Platforms 1-8 at Southern Cross without needing to use Metropolitan tracks, as the root cause of the increase in wheel wear, and suggested that the relatively stiff suspension of the VLocity was the reason it had been most severely affected. Design evolution The New Generation Rollingstock ordered for Queensland Rail from Bombardier, although built in India, are based on the VLocity design and the A-City 4000 Class EMU used by Adelaide Metro, which was itself based on the VLocity shell. The Transperth B Series Train is closely related to the VLocity as both were designed at the same time by the same company. A 2016 asset management report presented by V/Line noted that the VLocity would be unsuitable for higher passenger loads without a complete body redesign, and acknowledged that the operational performance of the VLocity was hampered by the inferior acceleration of V/Line's locomotive-hauled fleet. The 2016–17 Victorian budget allocated funds for a project to redesign the VLocity for long-haul services, particularly those to Shepparton, Warrnambool and Albury/Wodonga. By late 2017, design work had begun on modifications to the