Laurie Whelan, Greens candidate for Bendigo West
The recent state government announcement for re-opening of the Harcourt station is a welcome benefit to Harcourt and surrounding Castlemaine people but it’s the overall poor reliability of the Kyneton to Bendigo single rail line that commuters are constantly frustrated and cynical about. The announcement that the line will receive an upgrade if a Labor Government is re-elected gave no detail of what this would involve.
Kyneton to Bendigo line residents want trains to run on time, to be reliable and for more services; not cancellations, delays and nowhere to sit as was again portrayed in ‘Rail commuters voice frustration’ (Midland Express, September 11) with the regular cancellation of the 16.57 express service “equating to 16.8 per cent of scheduled service” being cancelled since June.
The single line is a constant cause of delays for commuters, and unfortunately the state government has denied any acknowledgement of this until this recent ‘quiet’ announcement with no details of what this upgrade will involve. They must commit to reinstating the whole second track otherwise it will just be a piecemeal fix for very little improvement in reliability.
From 2004 the Bendigo and Castlemaine Better Rail Action Groups and many others told them it would result in delays and an unreliable rail service – this is what has happened, a second rate service in terms of punctuality and reliability. Will they admit they got it wrong?
The poor levels of punctuality, which for many months now have been around 80 per cent to 85 per cent, together with cancellations and the overall unreliability of the Bendigo line means Bendigo West and Macedon residents get a second-rate service. It does impact on people’s lives, increasing the frustration for all, especially families that have made the decision to reside in our region but have to commute to Melbourne for work.
