Thursday, 30 November 2023

 Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (18:14): (483) My matter is for the Minister for Public and Active Transport, and the action I seek is a full review of the operation of the Swan Hill train service. In August I had to raise the issue of there being no disabled toilet on the Swan Hill train service, and at this stage there is still no dedicated proper disability toilet on that train – something that is totally unacceptable in today’s society. I have been contacted by a number of constituents who have told me that the 5-hour train journey home recently was without a buffet car. Parents had to explain to their children why there was no food available on that particular service. Speaker, as you would know, many of the people that use the train service from northern Victoria to Melbourne do it for medical appointments. For someone that has got diabetes or another ailment that means they need to eat regularly, to have that 5-hour journey without a buffet car is unacceptable.

The train service is valued by people from Swan Hill and Kerang that use it and even those that come down from Mildura and Robinvale on the bus to Swan Hill to catch the train to Melbourne. It is important that the minister actually ensure that V/Line are providing an appropriate service for those particular patrons on that train. That is why I am asking the minister to have a full review of the train service to ensure that we get proper disability services on the train and that the buffet car is there every trip so that no-one is caught short.