Passengers on the Gippsland Line will have more room to travel with The Nationals in government following a commitment to five additional VLocity train sets to boost capacity on Traralgon and Bairnsdale services.
The five additional three-carriage sets will provide 1,110 extra seats and allow longer trains to operate during busy periods, with each set used multiple times every day.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien said the commitment would provide practical relief for passengers who were increasingly finding services crowded.
“Gippsland commuters know how frustrating it is to get on a train and find there simply aren’t enough seats,” Mr O’Brien said.
“For people travelling from Sale or Rosedale, or further down the Gippsland Line, a crowded train isn’t just an inconvenience. It can mean standing for a large part of a journey to work, a medical appointment or another important commitment.
“Putting more carriages on the trains at the times people need them most is a simple and practical way to tackle that problem.”
Mr O’Brien said the additional VLocity sets would make better use of the existing regional fleet, with new hybrid electric trains on the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines freeing up 25 three-carriage V/Line sets for deployment across the regional network.
“We have trains that can be put to better use on regional services and this plan does exactly that.
“Gippslanders have been putting up with overcrowded and unreliable services for far too long.
“While extra carriages won’t fix every issue on the Gippsland Line, they will mean more people can get a seat and more room for passengers when services are busiest.
“That is a worthwhile and commonsense improvement for anyone who relies on the train to get where they need to go.”
Mr O’Brien said the commitment was part of The Nationals’ broader plan to improve infrastructure and services for regional Victoria.
“Regional Victorians like those of us here in Gippsland deserve a public transport system that has the capacity to meet demand.
“We want to see more people able to use public transport without having to worry about whether they’ll be able to get a seat.”
