PASSENGERS along the Warrnambool V/Line route will soon board trains spruiked as “modern, reliable and accessible” – but Swan Hill will have to wait longer.
Upgrades are underway on the line that V/Line described as having some of the “most picturesque scenery on the (regional) network”.
“And soon passengers will be able to enjoy the view from the comfort of a modern VLocity train,” the authority said.
“Our crews have been hard at work, making their way along more than 150km of track to replace more than 70,000 sleepers.”
V/Line said the works would enable “reliable” VLocity trains to run to and from the coastal city for the first time.
However, Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh has slammed the State Government for not making the long-haul Swan Hill service a priority.
He said the Suburban Rail Loop was costing Victorians more than $51 billion “and counting”.
“Imagine what V/Line could do with 25 per cent of those wasted billions,” Mr Walsh said.
“For a start, it could do something urgent with the Swan Hill line, another long-haul service which has been neglected to the point it is all but impossible to even get a disabled toilet on the train, let alone a VLocity standard opportunity.”
Mr Walsh said he had been pushing through Parliament, the media and meetings to have the line upgrades “to the standard its customers deserve”.
“But with the government’s financial incompetence and total ability to manage the economy, it’s like banging your head against a brick wall,” he said.
“Swan Hill deserves a massive overhaul and instead it is lumbered with the slow boat to China – I simply cannot believe how long this service regularly takes to carry its passengers to and from Melbourne.”
July performance figures showed all scheduled Swan Hill line services ran for the month, while 87.7 per cent of services ran on time.
Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams was asked when Swan Hill passengers could expect to be travelling on VLocity trains. Her office was yet to respond to questions.
The VLocity is the highest-speed train in the V/Line fleet, with a top speed of 160 km/h.
It takes close to five hours to travel from Southern Cross, Melbourne, to Swan Hill on the N-class locomotive, which are authorised to operate at 115 km/h.
