From the office of ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI

V/LINE is a disgrace! The daily overcrowding problems which so bedevil regional commuters are not a direct consequence of the Iranian/American war. To be precise — the malaise is a direct manifestation of years of neglect by successive governments, and which has been indirectly exacerbated by external influences — in this instance — the Middle East conflict. The problem already existed!

Apportioning blame directly to the conflict is a convenient election year red herring ­— a Godsend to whitewash a litany of regional indifference.

The crisis has been crystallising for decades. The persistent frustration of V/Line users has been ignored. In 2008, the Ballarat/Melbourne journey took less than 60 minutes. Today it takes closer to 90 minutes. Former premier Steve Bracks erroneously referred to this service as a “very fast train”. Daily temperature notwithstanding, it is — at its zenith — allegro moderato — moderately fast!

Currently, passengers between Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong, are forced to stand — in dangerously overcrowded carriages — for much of the journey. Preposterously, V/Line posits purchasing a ticket does not guarantee a seat. That, seemingly, is a luxury! The notion is unconscionable — a load of unadulterated codswallop! You have to ponder — in which parallel universe? Of course passengers expect a seat when travelling between regional cities. When one purchases a ticket to a theatrical entertainment, one does not arrive at the theatre expecting to stand for the performance. It could be argued the V/Line fine print is tantamount to fraud.

Public transport is the heart of any city. The decision to lay only a single track between Ballarat and Melbourne amounts to public transport infrastructure lunacy. It will, ultimately, prove an extravagant waste of taxpayers’ money. To be halted on a rail spur waiting for a late train to pass is — in 2026 — too stupid to articulate.

One need not be a demographer, an urban/regional planner, or a population analyst, to predict the future. Twenty years hence, trains between Ballarat and Melbourne will be scheduled every 20 minutes — ditto for Bendigo. Passenger demand will be directly proportional to the growth of urban sprawl and the exponential increase in population. Axiomatically, the want and need will, categorically, incapacitate the entire current regional network.

The overcrowding on regional trains is not a new phenomenon. It has been occurring for years — and ignored by politicians. Providing customers with subsidised — it is not free — V/Line travel in the wake of the oil crisis has exposed what regional commuters have known instinctively. The system was never built to cope. It demonstrates, definitively, a paucity of political vision by those whom we trusted to fashion Victoria’s transport future.

If politicians spent less time hawking their agitprop — devised to ensure a continuance of power — and devoted their collective energies to good governance — we would be better served.

It is not enough for the Victorian Premier and regional politicians to wring their hands like the wailing women of Corinth — exhorting us with their lamentations of regret and “understanding”. Frankly — never should it have come to this pass!

Had Victoria not wasted $600 million on Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games, and the reported $15 billion had not been misappropriated on Victoria’s Big Build — which the premier argues by way of explanation — “it’s sickening; it’s untested” — V/Line might be less parlous.

The Victorian government — Labor for the last 11 years — owes its regional commuters a plan — not an apology. Complete Ballarat’s second track. Guarantee seats. Buy more rolling stock. Stop the justifications.