Tara Kankindji, Kyneton
Re. The platform change trial which was happening at the Kyneton station (‘Track death trap’, Midland Express, July 31). I agree the trial was spectacularly unsuccessful but it actually highlighted the problem that trains to and from key locations such as Melbourne and even Bendigo are still not as frequent as they should be.
On Friday morning I arrived at my local station (Kyneton) to catch the early 5.48 train to Melbourne with the hope of getting to my university on time for an 8am start.
I was aware of the platform change trial that had been going on for the past week or so, which is why I arrived about five minutes early so I would have time to cross over (as there is no bridge or means to cross to the adjacent platform without jaywalking on the tracks), only to discover the train had already arrived, and I was not permitted to cross the tracks to board!
For a whole four to five minutes I solemnly watched the train I should have been comfortably sitting within sit comfortably still just mere metres from me, then leave without so much of a goodbye.
As a student who has to commute regularly to and from Melbourne I have to make an unfortunate choice every day – whether to sacrifice sleep and arrive up to over an hour early to my classes, or wait up to an hour or more for the next train and, obviously, miss class time which I am paying for out of my own pocket.
I suggested to PTV that adding one more extra service during the times mentioned above would be another step to increasing the frequency of services to regional areas that are constantly growing.
Improving connectivity is beneficial for all involved, so my question is: what are we waiting for V/Line?
