V/Line passengers using the Albury and Seymour lines are still struggling to find seats for the trips to and from Melbourne, with many locals forced to stand or sit on the floor for large periods of time.
Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said that whilst community pressure had forced the Victorian Government to add more services, passengers were still having several issues with bookings, accessibility, and securing reserved seats.
“Members of the community have been campaigning hard for more services and it is promising to hear that some additional weekend trains have been added,” Ms Cleeland said.
“While this a start, there is still a lot of work to be done. We don’t know if these services will remain for the foreseeable future, customers are unable to order tickets online, and some trains are still being replaced with coaches.
“Overcrowding is a serious issue on our trains and I am hearing genuine horror stories from constituents. We should not have any passengers on floors, let alone those that are elderly or have medical conditions.
“Just this week, I had a resident say they were unable to get seats for them and their terminally ill partner who were travelling for a medical appointment, despite looking to book them two weeks in advance.”
The Andrews Labor Government continues to ignore the ongoing concerns raised by commuters who have been unable to find safe seating on V/Line trips.
In Parliament last month, Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll ignored the issues of overcrowding and praised the current train services in the region.
But Ms Cleeland said this was not an accurate representation of the concerns she has heard in her office.
“Every day now we are having more constituents raise their concerns about the overcrowded and unsafe V/Line services,” Ms Cleeland said.
“While they are all happy for it to be cheaper, they need to be able to travel safely.
“There are only finite seats on the trains, and overbooking is creating unsafe conditions.
“The last thing we want to do is prevent people from being able to travel entirely, so more services must be arranged.”