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Legislative Assembly
 
Gippsland rail services

08 March 2016
Members statements
RUSSELL NORTHE  (NAT)

 


Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — Whilst the Labor government tries to spin its way out of the ongoing V/Line debacle, the impact upon Gippsland commuters continues. My office has been contacted by a number of locals over the last week who conveyed their frustration at the ongoing disruption to Gippsland rail services. For example, a gentleman who commutes most days to Melbourne for work explained that he catches a bus in the morning and an evening train service and this is creating at least an extra 6 hours of travel per week for him. Of course this is not only a strong source of frustration but also means less time spent with his family. To rub salt into the wound given there are only very limited train services, it seems the evening train services that are operating are frequently running very late on a regular basis. I was also approached by a lady who told me that her long-awaited dental appointment had to be rescheduled as her dentist, who was due to travel from Melbourne to the Latrobe Valley, had had his bus service cancelled.

Genuine concerns have also been raised about how the government is going to deal with V/Line services when the AFL football season commences. Many Latrobe Valley residents frequent the football by way of train services and one fears this is going to be a major issue in the coming weeks. In Parliament we have a conga line of Labor ministers standing up and espousing the virtues of metropolitan rail projects, but when it comes to Gippsland V/Line service disruptions we hear nothing. This is simply not good enough when you consider that at the same time Gippsland commuters have endured enormous disruption and hardship over these past weeks.