Regional trains
Bill TILLEY (Benambra) (11:13): During January’s holidays train travellers in the north-east were again subjected to the indignity of a Third World service – packed into half a train, 40 people sitting on the carriage floor for a 4½-hour trip to the border. A mechanical fault had cut the service from six cars to just three, but the VLocitys are always and always will be a poor imitation of long-haul passenger trains. The seats are locked into one direction and they are short on leg room – uncomfortable and torturous for taller passengers. The windows have no curtains, the lighting is too bright and the noise from under the carriage is absolutely disturbing. Two sets of three cars that make up a regular service need two food outlets, because you cannot get from one set to the other. V/Line does not have the staff to run both simultaneously, so half the train misses out. At some stations the gap between the train and the platform is so great that two staff are needed to make sure people are safe. Regular commuter John Trevivian said the VLocity sets are little more than suburban cars.
I want to work with the government to get a better service, particularly on the standard gauge line that runs between Sydney and Melbourne. Now, I know that you sneaky buggers have been snooping around the soon-to-be-retired New South Wales XPTs. Do not go shopping for them or anything. They are definitely not an upgrade.