Trains off track

By Tania Martin
HILLS commuters will continue to face an overcrowded train system despite the introduction of 200 new weekly services.
Ferntree Gully Liberal MP Nick Wakeling said that the State Government was again ignoring the needs of outer east commuters by not assigning any of the new services to the Belgrave line.
“It’s about time the minister caught a train to Belgrave and spoke to commuters to understand what is needed to improve services,” he said.
His comments come after Premier John Brumby last week announced new services as part of a three step plan to improve reliability and ease the squeeze for passengers on the rail network.
However, the plan failed to outline any changes to the Belgrave line, sparking concerns that the outer east has once again been bypassed. Despite the rail system reaching record heights with more than 89.4 million trips a year, hills commuters will have to continue to wait for improved services.
Shire of Yarra Ranges councillor Samantha Dunn said this latest announcement was a slap in the face for hills commuters.
“It shows the Government’s lack of acknowledgment for the outer-east,” she said.
“Those who suffer the cattle express on this (Belgrave) line will not be pleased with this outcome.”
Cr Dunn said it was quite incredible that once again the outer-east has been bypassed.
The three stage project includes 105 new weekly services to be rolled-out on 27 April, for people travelling on the Dandenong, Frankston, Glen Waverley, Stony Point, Sydenham and Werribee lines.
Hills commuters will also miss out on any improvements under stage two of the project which will see a further 95 new weekly service to be delivered in November.
Under stage three, off-peak services are expected to be delivered by 2009, however it is unclear if the outer-east will benefit from these changes.
Cr Dunn said the problems with the train services in the outer east were just as significant as those in Dandenong or Frankston.
“There is no reason why we shouldn’t be getting these improvements as well,” she said.
Cr Dunn said the Belgrave line carries a huge number of commuters who regularly have to put up with cancellations.
She said commuters are often forced to drive instead of catching the train because of the increasing cancellations.
This latest announcement comes on the back of the State Government’s report into future transport needs, which was slammed for not considering the outer-east.
However, Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the areas with the highest level of commuters had been considered as the top priority in the first stage of the project.
“Patronage growth on these lines has increased to 31.9 per cent over the past two years,” she said.
“By mid 2009 we will add more off-peak services to cater for the growing number of people using our trains throughout the day.”
Eastern Transport Coalition chairman Mick Van de Vreede said the Government now needed to start looking at what it could do for the outer east.
“We now have to question what the Government can do for us,” he said.