V/Line services would increase by 24 per cent with hundreds of new services for commuters in Melbourne’s under-serviced outer west, under a Labor election promise made as the party ramps up efforts to sandbag its heartland seats.
Premier Ben Carroll will on Thursday unveil the $420 million pledge to add 550 extra services each week to outer suburban and regional communities during off-peak hours, with commuters along the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines getting the biggest boost.
But Labor will need to overcome heavy scepticism from voters in the west – the party’s traditional stronghold – after failing to deliver on major rail upgrades after past elections. This includes promises to electrify the Melton and Wyndham Vale train line in 2018 and 2022, with work now not to be completed until at least the 2030s .
The new funding will cover staffing and maintenance costs to facilitate the extra services over a four-year term.
It adds to $400 million Labor announced last Saturday to upgrade bus services in Melbourne’s west , and hundreds of millions of dollars the government has pledged for road upgrades in gridlocked suburbs in the area.
The V/Line upgrades would primarily benefit voters in a swag of Labor-held seats where the party is coming under threat from conservative parties.
In September, the opposition pledged $1.7 billion to deliver a fleet of hybrid diesel-electric trains which can run on suburban and regional tracks, and would allow services to run more often and carry additional passengers on the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines.
Under the Labor proposal, 249 additional V/Line services would run every week on the Wyndham Vale line and 162 extra services on the Melton Line, with trains running every 20 minutes throughout the day from next year.
The additional suburban services from Wyndham Vale will allow for extra express trains to run from Geelong to Melbourne during the weekday off-peak, and enable services every 10 minutes during peak times and 20 minutes off-peak.
“Now we can realise the benefits of Labor’s upgrades: delivering more train services and giving you a more reliable way to get around,” Carroll said.
On the Bendigo line, Labor is promising 101 additional weekly services, as well as 29 extra services on the Seymour line every week from 2028. The extra services will reduce the crossover between suburban and regional passengers, lowering overcrowding and increasing travel times.
John Hearsch, former chief operating officer of V/Line and president of the Rail Futures Institute, said the government had been hyper focused on infrastructure without improving the services, but the promised upgrades would fill gaps in the timetable.
“The pity is it didn’t happen a while ago, when there was a reasonable chance that it would have actually come to pass,” he said, with the polls suggesting Labor’s three-term reign is set to end at the November 28 election.
Public Transport Users Association spokesperson Daniel Bowen said the plan would help “by separating out suburban and regional passengers providing more trains for each group”.
“It’s definitely a win-win ... for train passengers,” he said.
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