Common sense says that the South Gippsland railway group would be well
advised to run their steam trains from a station at or near Cranbourne.
Take a look at Puffing Billy. A key element of its success is the easy
access to Puff's Belgrave station from the Met's Belgrave station. One
just has to catch a train to Belgrave, walk a short distance and then
change.
I think one of the main difficulties the South Gippsland railway group
will face is easy access to their services. There is a Vline bus but we
all know about what commuters think of bus services don't we? Further a
steam service ex Cranbourne would be significantly cheaper for
commuters to get to (met ticket vs country bus ticket).
Of course the rail line to Korumburra would need to be upgraded but this
could be regarded as a long term investment by the Government. It stands
to reason that in time the suburbs will expand out towards Korumburra.
Interestingly I wonder if there would be any merit in the idea of a
commuter steam service? I have raised this issue regarding the Puffing
Billy line before but met some resistance because of the charter of the
Puff group and of the curvature of the line. Charters can be changed or
adapted and the Korumburra line is nowhere near as curvy.
What a grouse way to get to work?
cheers Peter