With more rail line disruptions between June and August and bus replacements to be put in place, East Gippsland passengers will no longer be forced to disembark at
Pakenham East and transfer to overcrowded Metro trains.
The change restores much-needed continuity and will save passengers more than an hour in travel time and a great deal of inconvenience and comes after Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull, raised the matter in Parliament with the Minister.
“It was a disgrace this arrangement was ever considered acceptable,” Mr Bull said.
“To force country passengers onto Metro services, adding 26 extra stops, lengthy delays, no secure luggage storage, and
the associated accessibility issues, was
simply unfair.”
Mr Bull said many passengers were unfamiliar with Metro timetables and struggled with the added complexity of changing services mid-journey with a long walk between the bus terminal and the station, which was less than ideal for our senior travellers.
“Negotiating crowded suburban trains with luggage, and in some cases mobility challenges, was not a fair trade for the loss of our direct train service,” he said.
“Thankfully, common sense has finally prevailed.”
He also renewed his call for a modest but meaningful timetable change to improve weekday travel options, extending the existing 9.22am coach service from Sale to begin in Bairnsdale.
“This would allow passengers from East Gippsland to connect with the Traralgon train and reach Melbourne by lunchtime instead of the late afternoon,” he said.
“It is not a big ask, but it would make a big difference.”
Mr Bull said he will continue to advocate for practical and sensible improvements to V/Line scheduling that meet the real needs of regional communities
