Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (19:03): (1421) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public and Active Transport, and the action I seek is the delivery of six-carriage VLocity trains to the Warrnambool line and the immediate undertaking of the works required to restore full capacity and dignity to train travel for the people of South-West Coast. My community is furious. After years of promises – years of being told upgrades were coming, improvements were coming and better services were coming – what we have received is a service that has gone backwards. Residents have lost the standard of rail travel they once had, despite hundreds of millions of dollars being spent. Passengers on the Warrnambool line often face journeys of up to 6 hours door to door, travelling from Portland by bus and then train, and yet are offered no basic food service. Those boarding a train fare even worse, with not so much as a vending machine available. For travellers with medical needs, such as diabetes, this lack of a buffet car is unacceptable. Meanwhile the coffee vendor at the Warrnambool station remains in limbo, with no clear direction or commitment from the government. The new trains are not designed for long distance travel; seats are uncomfortable, space is cramped and there is nowhere safe to store bags – an enormous concern for elderly travellers and international visitors.

While the rest of Victoria has had access to the Myki system for years, my community are still stuck collecting paper tickets as though we have been forgotten by time. We now regularly see people standing on services – standing on a long-distance service. This is not only unfair but dangerous. If the train were to strike debris or an animal on the line, anyone standing becomes a projectile. This is not a remote risk; this has happened. My office is inundated with complaints, and I have already warned the government that as they head into the summer period offering free transport, these problems will only be magnified. After half a billion dollars spent, the service is now substandard, and the explanations being offered simply do not wash. Other regions already manage selective carriage closures to ensure passengers can safely alight on shorter platforms. There is no reason the same solution cannot be implemented on the Warrnambool line. South-West Coast deserves the same standard of transport as other parts of the state.

I call on the minister to deliver six-carriage VLocity trains, restore full capacity and finally provide a modern, safe, reliable rail service for the people of my electorate. Our community deserve a train service that is safe, reliable and fit for purpose, and I will continue to fight until Warrnambool passengers get the service they deserve.