Re: V/Line Pass- Railways now forgotten in Government Policy?

["Grahame Ferguson" <grahamef@users.mcmedia.com.au>]

Railways have gone right out of the equation of the Victorian Government's
policy.
The only transport policy the Premier espoused was a highway from Geelong to
Bendigo via Ballarat in order to snare votes from the forgotten people of
rural Victoria.

Why can't the same money have been used to upgrade the trackwork, or
electrify the Geelong line?

The Government now has washed itself completely from any funding of Railways
in Victoria.

When it was put in the 'Herald-Sun' last month, that better trackwork would
benefit National Express's proposed new high speed DMUs, the Transport
Minister said this was a matter for Freight Victoria as they now owned the
track.  So in other words, Freight Victoria is under no obligation to
improve the tracks for National Express, and it is not our problem now even
though we(the Government) promised a better Public Transport System.

In actual fact the track is leased to Freight Victoria, and not owned by
them.  If the Government made track improvement a part of the Tender
conditions in the selling off of Public Transport, then we may have had an
operator now improving the tracks, not painting locomotives.  Has any
preparatory work commenced on the promised s.g.  Geelong Grain Loop?


The recent NSW Budget allocated $2 billion for Public Transport.  Did
Victoria's even come close??  $2.6 million alone is allocated to railway
heritage structures in NSW.
(Source: Railway Digest August/September 1999.)

I think that the notion of further electrification for Melbourne's expanding
outer suburbs, will be just a pipe dream here in Victoria, let alone dreams
of high speed trains that Queensland now holds as reality.  The Cranbourne
electrification was a Keating
Government initiative.

Politicians talk of grandiose VFT schemes, but the people of the grossly
expanding suburb of Craigieburn can't get a decent service to Melbourne.

Could Melbourne's Trains have handled the 2000 Olympics as good as Sydney?

It is hard not get political when the Railway's equation in Victoria = 0,
and the promises do not match actuality.

However, I do hope that the new private operators do improve the service in
Victoria, as that's all the hope that we left have in Victoria.


regards GF.