General News
5 October, 2022
Residents won’t be railroaded
A LOCAL group has raised concerns surrounding the V/Line decision to strip the forthcoming V/Locity trains on the Warrnambool line of catering services.
A LOCAL group has raised concerns surrounding the V/Line decision to strip the forthcoming V/Locity trains on the Warrnambool line of catering services.
Members of the South West Public Transport Action Committee met with Corangamite Shire mayor Ruth Gstrein on Monday to voice concerns surrounding loss of catering on the Warrnambool line.
South West Public Transport Action Committee member John Glazebrook said a group of eight Terang area residents were at their wits end with service cuts.
“The State Government is wasting millions of dollars on all kinds of projects, but they’re going to remove the catering carriage from the V/Locity trains,” he said.
“We think that’s unacceptable when you consider the police are reporting several major incidents of major road trauma every week on the Princes Highway between Melbourne and Warrnambool.
“Where is the incentive for people travelling long distance to use public transport?
“People will be reluctant to travel on the train service because they won’t have access to drink and food – it’s a health issue, and a basic human right.”
Mr Glazebrook said regular commuters on the line had not had an opportunity to have a say in the decision, and attempts to contact relevant government ministers had notyielded results.
“We’re not happy, and the State Government isn’t listening,” he said.
“While the government throws money elsewhere, they’re cutting back on services to public transport in the south west.
“We’ve seen the demise of bulk-billing in south west Victoria too, this is just another example of spending at a time when the government claims it has to save money.”
Mr Glazebrook said it was a positive step for councillors in both Corangamite and Moyne shires to throw their support behind the retention of catering services.
“We want the catering carriage retained on the line,” he said.
“The new, updated, so-called high velocity train model is not acceptable – it’s noisier, and it’s claimed to reduce the journey only by 10 minutes, and in return for that we’ve got to do without a catering carriage.
“If it would cut an hour off the journey, it might be different, but we’ve got a trade off for a high level of noise and the loss of a catering carriage and all we get is getting to Melbourne 10 minutes earlier.”