Ripon electorate
Martha HAYLETT (Ripon) (14:44): (1239) My question is for the Minister for Public and Active Transport. Minister, how many passengers have benefited from our recent boost to weekend train services on the Ararat line? Our state Labor government has transformed the Ararat line, bringing it back from the dead after Jeff Kennett and his Liberal mates closed it in the 1990s. It has breathed new life into Beaufort and Ararat, connecting locals to the rest of the state again. Since then we have slashed the cost of a V/Line ticket and boosted train services on the Ballarat and Ararat lines. Back in April we added two new return services to the Ararat line on Saturdays and Sundays, including a 9:15 pm Saturday service to get passengers home from AFL twilight matches or an evening in Melbourne. This is what the Ararat community called for, and we got it done. Now local schools, businesses and the hospital want to see an additional morning train service to get workers into Ararat before 9 am. I have raised this with the minister and will keep working closely with locals to make it a reality in the future.