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

["Exnarc" <gwrly@netspace.net.au>]

Michael Walker <walker@hotkey.net.au> wrote in message
936880711.88112@diddley.primus.com.au">news:936880711.88112@diddley.primus.com.au...
> >Kennett is far too much of a smug git for my liking, but you have to face
> >it - the improvements to off-peak services over the last 5 years is way
> more
> >than Labor ever did as far as service improvements during their time in
> >office. Mind you, you could argue that the loss of conductors and guards,
> >privatisation and ticket machines outweighs that.
>
>
> Yes, the improvements to off peak services have been impressive. Even the
> ones before the most recent ones were an improvement on the labour years.
> However, the reduction in peak services introduced in the summer after
Jeff
> was re-elected still exists. The summer timetable was introduced as was
the
> norm, except it was unusual in that there were hand out broadsheet
> timetables this time, an apparent improvement over previous years where
the
> only evidence of a summer timetable was the yellow timetables in the
poster
> frames. The timetables had some trains marked with an 'A' as those which
> were to run from the 11th January on as well as the others. Since then
there
> have been some revisions to peak hour services but the number of trains
run
> is similar to that timetable from 11th Jan of whichever year it was. We
> still haven't returned to the number of peak hour trains from under the
> previous Labour government, nor the number of peak hour express trains on
at
> least the Hurstbridge line.
>
> Mind you, I'm not dead against ticket machines and privatisation, just the
> haphazard near enough is good enough way it was done...
>
All this talk about improved service is a little hard to take.

I fully remember  in early 1994 when Brown, (on Kennetts instructions)
insisted on reducing the deficit on public transport, their solution was to
cut all services after 2000, putting replacement buses on most routes, cut
back on Saturday and Sunday trains, and a whole range of other cutbacks.

It wasn't the generosity of the Kennett Govt that stopped these plans, (they
intended to introduce them), it was the Union movement (seeing the potential
job losses) who through lobbying talked some reason into them, I doubt, if
it had been someone else but Alan Brown that we would have most of these
services now, he bargained very hard with the unions to reduce the deficit
by $270 Million, in his own words "Jeff is against this process, he wants to
take you on". I was one of the delegates who was involved in these
negotiations and I remember well Alan Browns attempts to resolve the issues
without a full scale war. (I don't often compliment Liberal MPs)

It was the trust that developed between Brown and the union reps involved
that helped reason prevail, all Kennett wanted was to take the Rail Unions
on in a long dispute to destroy them.

(It just shows that even in a dictatorial organisation like the Victorian
Liberal party, reason sometimes can prevail).

So lets not talk about what Jeff has done for public transport, he was
prepared in 1994 to see the system destroyed in an attempt to to take on the
rail unions.

The unions didn't play into his hands on that occassion.

Bob.