POOR punctuality of VLine on the Ballarat line and no firm details on an upgraded freight track though the city were the focus of State opposition criticism on Monday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Ballarat Station, shadow minister for public transport, David Davis was scathing of performance on the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cVLine trains across the system are not performing reliably or punctually,\u201d he said. \u201cOnly one month, out of the last 12 has the line at its punctuality targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommuters deserve reliable, comfortable, safe and punctual trains, and they\u2019re getting none of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response Minister for Public Transport, Melissa Horne, defended the government\u2019s record on the Ballarat Line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the Liberals continue to talk down regional rail, we\u2019re investing half a billion dollars in the Ballarat Line to deliver more frequent and reliable services,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are also adding more VLocity carriages to the Ballarat line, providing more seats on the busiest services.<\/p>\n
\u201cReliability on the Ballarat line in August was 96 per cent, meeting the target. Ballarat line punctuality was 89.5 per cent in August. This is the second highest result on the line for punctuality this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Member for Ripon and shadow treasurer, Louise Staley, was critical about the progress on improved rail freight opportunities through the city.<\/p>\n
Know as the Freight-Passenger Rail Separation Project and announced mid-2018, the $130 million works would see broad-gauge passenger separated from standard-gauge freight tracks, the rails under the Armstrong Street North bridge duplicated and improved signalling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been asking in the parliament for an update on the project\u2026 and I\u2019ve had no answers at all from Jacinta Allan. She\u2019s entirely silent,\u201d Ms Staley said. \u201cI\u2019m starting to think that\u2019s another country project that has been abandoned by this government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minister Horne said the Freight-Passenger Rail Separation Project was still going ahead and was part of larger infrastructure upgrades in Western Victoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Rail Freight Separation Project works were being planned to be conducted as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project,\u201d she said. \u201cThe government is now discussions with the Commonwealth about the future stages of Murray Basin Rail and that includes these works.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
POOR punctuality of VLine on the Ballarat line and no firm details on an upgraded freight track though the city were the focus of State opposition criticism on Monday. Speaking at Ballarat Station, shadow minister for public transport, David Davis was scathing of performance on the line. \u201cVLine trains across the system are not performing […]<\/p>\n