Media Release Premier Victoria: ALL ABOARD: TRAINS NOW ARRIVING AT MARYBOROUGH

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Saturday, 24 July, 2010

ALL ABOARD: TRAINS NOW ARRIVING AT MARYBOROUGH

Passenger rail services returned to Maryborough today, reconnecting the central Victorian township with the V/Line regional rail network for the first time in more than 15 years.

Premier John Brumby and Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula joined the local community in Creswick to ride the first train to Maryborough.

"This is a historic day for Maryborough and I am delighted to announce that this project was delivered ahead of schedule and the first V/Line revenue services will start tomorrow," Mr Brumby said.

"The community have been waiting a long time to see trains return to Maryborough, so I am delighted that this project has been delivered ahead of schedule so people can start experiencing the benefits sooner," Mr Brumby said.

"Our Government is committed to supporting families living and working in regional and rural Victoria and we understand how important high quality transport connections are to their liveability and prosperity.

"We also understand that nothing is more important to Victorian families than job security and that's why we are investing in job-securing projects like new trains for our regional rail network.

"Since we completed the Regional Fast Rail project there has been a renaissance in regional rail and today more people than ever before are travelling on our regional trains. That's why we are making the right investments now to plan for growth on the regional rail network."

Mr Brumby said the increased patronage reflected investments the government had made in upgrading tracks, delivering new trains, re-opening train lines and increasing services to major regional centres including Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Latrobe Valley and Seymour.

"We returned services to Ararat and Bairnsdale and tomorrow the first train leaves from Maryborough after they were closed by the Kennett Government in the early 1990s," he said.

Mr Brumby said this was a very special day for the communities of Creswick and Maryborough and that he was delighted to be a part of this historic occasion.

"The delivery of this project is a fantastic example of how the government is improving the liveability of regional towns by improving access to public transport," he said.

This $50 million initiative is part of the Brumby Labor Government's $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan which is helping link rural, regional and metropolitan Victoria.

Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula said the return of rail services would be well received by the Creswick and Maryborough communities.

"It is wonderful that people in the region will have greater access to public transport services and be able to experience first hand the benefits of train travel," he said.

"The re-instated daily rail service will allow people in Maryborough and Creswick to better access employment and education opportunities as well as health, retail and leisure services in Ballarat and on to Melbourne.

"Fourteen weekly train services will operate, giving people access to a train service every day of the week."

Mr Pakula said public transport in the region would also be further boosted with the government's recent commitment to invest $7 million to return services to Clunes as part of the Victorian Government's $631 million Ready for Tomorrow: A Blueprint for Regional and Rural Victoria.

"The return of services to Maryborough today is just the beginning, with passenger rail services also set to return to Clunes by the end of next year," Mr Pakula said.

"The funding will allow for new facilities at Clunes Station to meet modern passenger rail standards."

For fare and timetable information visit vline.com.au or call V/Line on 136 196.