Council
5 March, 2024
Rail service unreliable
MEMBER for South West Coast, Roma Britnell has again slammed the state government in Parliament for the “terrible punctuality” of VLine’s Warrnambool rail services.
She also alleged Labor had continually failed to deliver on its promised new Warrnambool line trains.
This follows VLine’s Warrnambool line failing to meet VLine’s target of 92 per cent of service’s arriving within the designated time frame for every month of 2023.
“Such a punctuality record is by far the worst of VLine’s long distance and suburban rail services,” Ms Britnell said.
“In addition, VLine’s compensation to travellers after failing to meet punctuality targets is also accessible to primarily city-based Myki pass users.
“The punctuality figures for VLine’s Warrnambool line are shamefully low, with just over half arriving on schedule in 2023.”
Ms Britnell believes South West Coast residents are not able to rely on the VLine services they need to attend their medical appointments, family commitments and important events.
“For the entirety of last year, there was not a single month in which the Warrnambool VLine service met its punctuality target,” she said.
“It’s a disgrace that the VLine service has not once met its targets on the Warrnambool line over the past year, not once.
“Long suffering residents taking the train receive no compensation, as only myki pass users qualify for compensation under this Labor government. Yes fares are cheaper, but that doesn’t mean we should accept poor performance.”
Ms Britnell called for additional, new modern trains that are accessible and on time.
“If we want to encourage public transport usage, we need to ensure the public has confidence there will be a train and it will be on time,” Ms Britnell said.
