Melbourne railway stations left unmanned

Melbourne railway stations have been left without Protective Service Officers due to poor rostering, unplanned leave, broken airconditioners, faulty toilet doors and water damage.

Documents under Freedom of Information reveal about 1300 PSO shifts were not worked in the 10 months to December, the Herald Sun newspaper reports.

Unplanned leave, such as carers and sick leave, were the main causes, but unsafe work conditions at some locations and poor rostering were also to blame.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Natalie Webster said PSOs were sometimes unable to work at particular railway stations due to health and safety issues.

"PSOs are positioned at a railway station for the course of their shift, so it is vital that they have access to necessities such as running water and working toilets," she said in a statement to AAP on Wednesday.

"They also need to have an area that provides them a reprieve from hot or cold weather."

She said if unplanned leave impacted rostering on a particular night, transit police would undertake a risk assessment to determine which stations should be manned.