PTUA wants more frequency from Coalition’s train pledge

THE Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed the Coalition’s pledge for new long-distance trains in Victoria, but would prefer that the new trains were used to add more services.

Responding to the Coalition’s state election commitment of last week, PTUA regional spokesperson Paul Westcott, said the existing long-distance diesel trains were overdue for replacement.

“They’ve served the state well for over 30 years, but they’re outmoded and too unreliable for a modern railway network. Faster and more dependable trains will keep regional Victorians connected to the rest of the state.

“VLocity trains work well on long-distance services to Ararat and Maryborough, so they should provide a good service on the other long-distance lines.”

However, the PTUA has stressed the importance of running trains frequently – as the Coalition has pledged to procure only 16 new trains and will remove the old sets as the new ones come into service, there will be no net increase in the number of trains running on long-distance lines.

“Faster and more reliable trains are important, but having trains run more frequently is vital,” Mr Westcott said.

“Most of the lines in question see only two or three trains per day, leaving huge gaps between services.

“In many cases, the last train is in the late afternoon, so if you can’t travel until the evening, you’re stuck till the next day. Faster journey times are great, but having to wait several hours – or overnight – until the next train makes the service unusable for a lot of people.”

He said an increase in the number of trains would help provide a more usable train service that allows regional passengers to get to and from Melbourne when they want to, and encouraged more people to move to regional areas.

“Passengers hope that the Coalition is open to delaying the retirement of the older trains, and to procuring more of the new trains after placing the initial order.”