2015-10-19
Speech in parliament: Last week I attended a meeting of the Altona Loop Group. I have been involved in this community campaign for the last four years after the previous Liberal government cut the timetable on the Altona loop. Regularly passengers who use that particular piece of rail infrastructure are dumped at Laverton because Metro Trains Melbourne does not really care all that much about passengers and just does not run the service.
Last week the Altona Loop Group again filled the RSL club in Altona, and people were extremely grateful that the local member, Minister Jill Hennessy, the member for Altona in the Assembly, attended and gave them a respectful hearing, but they were extremely disappointed that, even though representatives of Public Transport Victoria and Metro were in the room, they could not tell them when the bypassing of stations would stop and when the timetable would be renewed. These people had been promised that after the regional rail link was put in place the timetable would be renewed and they would have a reasonable service again. It is time that the government step up to the plate and make sure that the timetable is restored and that the people who use the Altona loop get a service that is comparable to that on the rest of the network.