The Public Transport Users Association has described as “pure spin” Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder’s excuse for regional trains not stopping at North Melbourne station under the Regional Rail Link (RRL)

“The minister is trying to dress up a downgrade as an improvement,” PTUA regional spokesperson Paul Westcott said.

Mr Mulder has said that continuing to allow V/Line passengers to use North Melbourne would “add to congestion” at the station, yet it was recently rebuilt at a cost of $30 million to increase its capacity.

“It’s nonsense to claim that regional trains will suffer delays from congestion by stopping at North Melbourne because they will now all stop at Footscray instead,” Mr Westcott said.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called on the Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder to clarify the position regarding Myki short-term tickets.

PTUA Regional Spokesman Paul Westcott said yesterday’s announcement about Myki had created uncertainty for regional bus users in areas using Myki, including Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.

“Over sixty percent of bus travellers are using short-term tickets[1], yet Mr Mulder says that they are going to be eliminated ‘to the extent possible’. That threatens to create a huge problem for bus passengers and is likely to be a disincentive for people to use public transport.”
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The Geelong Branch of the Public Transport Users Association is disappointed that the state government has given the go-ahead to the Regional Rail Link (RRL) without any real changes.

“When he was in opposition, Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder made a number of pointed criticisms of the scheme, yet now he has rushed into announcing that it will continue it as it is, even in the face of a huge cost increase,” Branch convenor Paul Westcott said.

The cost blow-out that Mr Mulder revealed after the Coalition came to power, coupled with the federal government delaying its funding commitment in order to deal with recent natural disasters, provided a perfect opportunity to have the project properly re-assessed, and for alternatives to be fully explored.
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JASON Dowling’s defence of the Regional Rail Link (Comment, 22/2) essentially asserts that a project costing about $5 billion must be a good thing.

What began as a line on a map in the Eddington report has evolved secretly and fitfully. We still have no idea how train services will be organised, but we do know that many passengers will actually be disadvantaged by the project as it is configured.

The basic problem is that it tries to be both a regional and a suburban project. New stations at Tarneit will be served by crowded Geelong trains making extra stops. Tarneit residents won’t get the same frequency of service as other metropolitan rail users.
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The billion dollar blowout in the construction costs of the Regional Rail Link, reported in the Australian Financial Review today (3 February 2011), could provide the opportunity to revise the project and fix its worst problems, the Public Transport Users Association has said.

Secretary Tony Morton said that well-chosen experts for the proposed new Public Transport Authority could now be appointed to “do the homework” on the Link that had been neglected by the Department of Transport.

The PTUA has previously raised concerns that existing plans would make Geelong trains slower and cut connections to the City loop, the University precinct bus shuttle, and the Upfield, Craigieburn and Werribee suburban train lines. Passengers may have also overloaded the trains serving the proposed new stations.
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The PTUA has called on the Minister for Public Transport, Terry Mulder, to include an evaluation of the Regional Rail Link (RRL) in the review of the former government’s transport plan.

PTUA Geelong Branch convenor Paul Westcott noted that in his recent announcement of the review, Mr Mulder said all projects proposed in the Victorian Transport Plan would be reviewed, but also that the RRL would proceed.

“It’s unclear whether some of the critical elements of the RRL project will be reviewed as well, but they certainly should be.  What’s the point of doing an overall review of the Transport Plan without examining the most extensive and expensive part of it?” Mr Westcott asked.

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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed Labor’s policy, announced today, to run more frequent Geelong trains during the day on weekdays. But they have also called for better planning to help passengers get to stations, saying many new buses will only meet every third train.

The Labor Party policy promises trains every twenty minutes between Geelong and Melbourne, on weekdays between the morning and afternoon peaks.

Geelong Branch convenor Paul Westcott welcomed Labor’s support for more frequent trains: ‘We’ve been asking for better off-peak services for years. At the moment, you can drive all the way to Melbourne in the time you’d spend waiting between trains’.
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Public transport users have welcomed the Greens’ support for a dedicated public transport authority for Geelong, which promises to give the region a greater say over its public transport services.

Convenor of the Geelong Branch of the Public Transport Users Association, Paul Westcott, congratulated the Greens for being the first major party to pick up the idea for a Geelong public transport authority, and called on the other major parties to follow suit.
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As the state election approaches, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for upgrades to V/Line short distance services^[1] to run at least every 30 minutes, seven days-a-week.

PTUA regional spokesman Paul Westcott said that with strong patronage growth, V/Line train services are increasingly overcrowded not just in peak times, but also at off-peak times, including weekends, and that waiting times are excessive.

“You will wait an hour between trains from Geelong to Melbourne, for  example. You could drive the distance in that time.

“And our members report passengers forced to stand for long distances on some off-peak V/Line trains.”
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The Public Transport Users Association has expressed serious concerns over the revelation that no platforms will be provided at North Melbourne station for Geelong rail passengers travelling on the forthcoming Regional Rail Link.

Although extra platforms will be provided at both Footscray and Southern Cross stations as part of the $4.2bn project, the Department of Transport has told the PTUA that platforms at North Melbourne won’t be provided, apparently to keep costs down.

North Melbourne is currently a major interchange point for travellers on the Geelong line, providing connections to City Loop services, as well as the recently-introduced 401 shuttle bus from North Melbourne to the university and hospital precincts in Parkville. The 401 was established in part to assist Geelong line commuters.

“Given that $4.2 billion is to be spent on this scheme, it is completely unacceptable that such a vital and well-used interchange point will be by-passed,” PTUA Geelong Branch convenor Paul Westcott said.
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