Gippsland rail users are being urged to attend a public forum in Melbourne next week to push the case for fast and reliable regional rail to an expert panel discussion.
Gippsland V/Line Users Group convenor Natalie Thorne said it was vital for Gippslanders to make their presence felt in order to drive a conversation about improved services for the region.
“The more opportunity we have to participate in discussions where there are rail experts in the room, the more likely we are to influence and contribute to constructive conversation about what Gippsland needs for fast rail,” Ms Thorne said.
“I will be raising many points with panellists on behalf of Gippsland but I don’t want to be there alone This needs to look like the community cares.”
The forum to be held at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology includes spokespeople from Committee of Geelong, economists, academics and fast rail entrepreneur Nick Cleary.
It follows recent commuter frustration in which some V/Line users were delayed by more than three hours due to faults and coach replacements on Monday, May 14.
V/Line urged people to defer unnecessary travel during the incident.
Ms Thorne said she would raise the need to address bottlenecks through the metro corridor that were slowing regional services stuck behind Metro trains.
“At the moment, V/Line services average 40 kilometres an hour through the Pakenham corridor. I’m talking about having trains that can travel at their capable speed – it’s not fancy.
“It’s just about making trains run faster and more efficient than nan’s Volvo. We need to start talking about potential smart solutions for Gippsland.”
The Talking Transport: Regional Fast Rail: Prospects, implications and challenges forum will be held on Tuesday, May 29 from 6-pm 7.30pm at Storey Hall Lecture Theatre, RMIT University. Entry is free.
