More carriages and services are priorities
A strategy to upgrade public transport in regional areas was released in Warragul yesterday by Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan.
“Connecting Regional Victoria - Victoria’s Regional Network Development Plan” gives a broad outline of the government’s short (up to five years), medium (5-10 years) and longer (beyond 10 years) priorities.
Some of the key targets relating to Gippsland are more frequent train and bus services, quicker travel times, more punctual and reliable train services and additional train carriages.
Ms Allan travelled to Warragul by train, her service from Melbourne due at 9.19am arriving 20 minutes late.
The report follows more than 40 public consultation sessions across regional Victoria including at Warragul, Traralgon, Sale, Bairnsdale, Wonthaggi and Leongatha.
It does not identify projects that fit into the short, medium and longer terms but Ms Allan said two additional return train services between Melbourne and Gippsland would be introduced during the 2016-2017 financial year.
She said plans would also be developed to duplicate the single track section between Bunyip and Longwarry and create passing loops between Moe and Traralgon, Traralgon and Sale and Sale and Bairnsdale.
In partnership with local communities through the government’s Transport Investing in Regions initiative the entry road, car park and platform at the Walhalla Goldfields Railway station will be gravel sealed.
The VRNDP was launched with a presentation at the Warragul railway station attended by local government, MPs, representatives from government departments and agencies and commuters.
Gippsland V/Line Users Group’s Natalie Thorne said cutting travel times, providing more carriages to prevent over crowding and greater reliability and punctuality of trains were the major needs.
A key to that was establishing four tracks between Caulfield and Dandenong to accommodate express trains to Gippsland on a section that was already operating beyond capacity.