Gippsland’s representative rail group has welcomed a Nationals plan to investigate ways to reduce congestion on the Gippsland line, as the group fears commuters could be shunted onto Metro trains within five years.
Plans to reduce congestion and improve punctuality were detailed in The Express last week when Nationals candidate for Morwell Sheridan Bond outlined options to address Gippsland’s increasing rail woes.
Ms Bond said the party was considering looking at plans for a tunnel or a new line on a separate parcel of space, requiring compulsory acquisition of land, between the city and Pakenham to improve punctuality.
Gippsland V/Line Users Group convenor Natalie Thorne welcomed the ideas but called on the state government to bring in experts for a “proper and feasible” solution. “It’s possible that the tunnel is not feasible but it is true that we need a solution,” Ms Thorne said.
“At the moment, the government won’t even engage in a conversation about a potential solution for additional tracks through the Pakenham corridor.
“We welcome the Nationals igniting this debate. We feel a solution does need to be found for additional tracks through a heavily-congested, long metropolitan corridor.”
Ms Thorne said commuters were bearing the brunt of unplanned disruptions and delays as buses replace trains from Saturday for a week – coinciding with school holidays – due to a nine-day upgrade to improve signalling, power and platforms in preparation for High Capacity Metro Trains.
“V/Line customers could end up being shunted onto Metro services within the next five years,” Ms Thorne said.
“It’s a huge concern and it’s not only the impact on travel time but the inconvenience of a whole region not having direct access to the city.”
“Whilst the government is investigating super fast trains for Geelong, they’re not even prepared to investigate a direct service for Gippsland for the whole of the east.”
Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said rail infrastructure upgrades were underway to future-proof the Cranbourne/ Pakenham line.
“We’re investing $530 million in the Gippsland line upgrade, including track duplication, additional platforms and signalling upgrades,” Ms Allan said in a statement.
“This work will enable more frequent and reliable services for Gippsland passengers.
“We’re also undertaking the biggest single rail corridor upgrade that Victoria has ever seen to improve the Cranbourne-Pakenham lines which will deliver more along the Gippsland line.”
