Regional rail plan revamp

Geelong will get “commuter-style” trains under a revamp of regional rail services, the State Government has announced.
The Regional Network Development Plan (RNDP) moved Victoria away from “ad hoc” public transport improvements to a better co-ordinated public transport network, transport minister Jacinta Allan said.
The RNDP will have trains, buses and coaches all working together to get people where they needed to go, Ms Allan said.
The plan will add a daily off-peak return service from Melbourne to Geelong and a train every 40 minutes to Waurn Ponds from 7am to 7pm on weekends.
There will also be an additional return service between Melbourne and Warrnambool every Sunday and a fourth return service between Geelong and Warrnambool on weekdays
There will also be regional bus service improvements for the Bellarine Peninsula along with upgrades for bus stops and coach interchanges.
Both Marshall and North Shore stations will receive improvements along with additional car parks at Lara and Marshall stations.
“The RNDP ends the ad-hoc approach to public transport planning that has held regional Victoria back,” Ms Allan said.
“This is the first ever long-term strategy for better public transport in our regions, with more services, improved stations and better bus and coach connections.
“It is the product of one of the most extensive public consultation programs ever carried out in regional Victoria.”
The release of the new plan came after problems with excessive train wheel wear and boom gate cost taxpayers up to $60 million and headaches for commuters.
The government announced funding in this year’s budget for planning to duplicate the line from South Geelong to Waurn Ponds and for extra services to Armstrong Creek.
But Nationals leader Peter Walsh said the plan failed to “relieve the misery of regional Victorians still trying to navigate a disruptive and unreliable transport network”.
“Rehashed funding promises and undefined long-term strategies will not fix the crisis facing V/Line services,” Mr Walsh said.