Article: Mildurans revolt after 17-year wait for train

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Mildurans revolt after 17-year wait for train

Mildurans revolt after 17-year wait for train
CLAY LUCAS
March 18, 2010

BROKEN political promises hurt, but nowhere are they felt quite as they are in Mildura, where Labor promised a decade ago to restore passenger rail services cut by the Kennett government in 1993.

Mildura is still waiting to get its train line back, but it isn't taking the lack of action by the Brumby government quietly.

Last night, 1200 of the area's 60,000 residents - one of the biggest turnouts in the town's history, according to the mayor - met to demand the return of train services.

The Transport Department is studying whether the train can run again. The only public transport to Melbourne is the bus, and the trip, combined with a train, can take up to nine hours.

That bus service was not good enough for the department's officials at last night's meeting. They enraged locals by saying they had flown from Melbourne because the bus took too long.

Former premier Steve Bracks repeatedly promised independent MP Russell Savage that he would get the line reopened. ''I should have got him to write the promise down,'' Mr Savage said from his home in Queensland, where he has moved.

Since coming to government in 1999, Labor has returned trains to Bairnsdale and Ararat, and it will return services to Maryborough this year. It reneged on a promise to return trains to Leongatha, instead providing more buses.

Mildura mayor Glenn Milne said the government had ''got back into power by promising this train back, and they didn't do it''. Mildura was the only major regional city in Australia that did not have a rail connection to a capital city, he said. ''Swan Hill, Shepparton, Warrnambool, they've all got a rail line.''

Former Mildura resident Bruce McLean fought for years to have the rail line reopened. ''In 2004, Labor announced again [the line] would come back in ... Nothing happened.''

The opposition has not committed to bringing the rail line back, and will say only that it will examine the government's feasibility study, due out in June.

Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula's spokesman said the government was doing the feasibility study into returning passenger services after a $73 million upgrade of the rail line for freight.

[ozbob]

SunraysiaDaily  --> Train service could take pressure off roads

Letters

WELL, it appears we have a good chance of seeing the rail from Mildura to Melbourne upgraded and let's hope that will be to the 23 tonne load which will mean that both passenger rail and freight will be able to travel faster.

Can you imagine a large European city not having a modern rail service? No, nor can I.

A modern rail service will be able to take many of the heavy transports off the roads.

Another interesting statistic is that rail is about 1/3 of the cost of laying as sealed roads. So build the modern rail and save the roads.

I last travelled to Melbourne via bus and train – train was great and was travelling up to 106km/h according to my tablet speedo.

With a modern rail, 140km/h would be easy to get and the beauty was that I didn't have to get to the airport hours early, didn't have to catch buses into the city, I just changed trains to get to the suburb I wished.

Well, council, I think it is up to you to get behind this community and vote as a council representing its community which is what you were elected to do.

Just imagine when the train comes the many more people which will use it for the Mildura Country Music Festival, holidaying, students travelling to and from school and uni and, lastly, pensioners because there aren't any stairs to climb up and down and plenty of leg room.

Just remember, good trains mean good roads.

Geoffrey Hyde,