2017-04-20
Regional train travellers should prepare to stand for long periods, with V/line CEO James Pinder today conceding there is no plan to cut overcrowding on regional train services.
The V/line CEO appeared before a Victorian parliamentary inquiry to explain worsening overcrowding, deteriorating punctuality and inform the public of potential for the Murray Basin rail project to incorporate passenger trains.
Greens transport spokesperson Samantha Dunn said the government need to fund major V/line improvements in the upcoming budget.
“V/line trains are late, unreliable and overcrowded, but there’s no plan to fix the problems,” Samantha Dunn said.
“The government needs to fund V/line to deliver a train service that can be relied on to turn up and provide a seat.
“V/line laid out a comprehensive plan to manage growth and improve reliability, but successive governments have failed to fund its rollout.
“In more positive news, it was confirmed that there is no barrier to running passenger trains on the new Murray Basin rail line. We will work with communities across Northern Victoria to make sure this happens,” she said.
Link to 2011 V/line plan - http://greens.org.au/news/vic/vline-warns-government-regional-rail-link-overcrowding