Northern Victoria Region
Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (14:02): (726) My question is to the Minister for Public and Active Transport. When will the government make public the results of the trial of the additional weekend V/Line trains and mandatory bookings on the Albury–Wodonga line? The government’s $10 V/Line fare policy caused chaos on the Albury–Wodonga line as passengers as were not required to book, which left people sitting on the floor of the carriages or standing for a 4-hour journey. After much lobbying by the member for Benambra, an additional service of a train with three carriages was added to the timetable on a Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon to ease overcrowding. We were told this was a trial – that trial ended last week. With the siren about to sound on the kick-off for the 2024 AFL season, these services will again be in heavy demand, but they are still only temporary and have no food or drink service despite being fully staffed and having fully stocked fridges. These trains should be a permanent fixture on the timetable and should be increased to six carriages.