Article: Passengers boom on V/Line country trains

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From the Herald Sun click here!

Passengers boom on V/Line country trains

Passengers boom on V/Line country trains
Article from: Herald Sun

May 02, 2009 12:00am

A NEW golden age of train travel has dawned with passenger numbers on V/Line at their highest since records began in the 1940s.

Saturday train travel - especially by footy fans - has ballooned by 50 per cent in two years.

In March, almost 1.1 million trips were made on V/Line train services.

Patronage on the Gippsland line has soared by 27 per cent in a year.

Five years ago Friday the line reopened between Sale and Bairnsdale.

Passenger numbers on the Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong lines have grown by about 20 per cent in a year.

V/Line communications manager Daniel Moloney said the leisure market was growing faster than commuter demand.

"Not since the pre-car era have we seen so many people get on the train," he said.

Mr Moloney said the success of the Geelong Football Club was partly responsible for the spike in weekend travel.

Patronage had also remained high despite lower petrol prices than last year.