Save the Gippsland Line

Dear Daniel Andrews,

We the citizens and people of Gippsland do not agree with the recommendation that regional train services be terminated at Pakenham and our vulnerable, disabled and elderly be forced to change trains on their journey to Melbourne. Many of these people are the disadvantaged of our community, often seeking medical assistance & appointments in metropolitan medical centres that are not available in our region.

This change would also affect the bike tourists and young families who would also have difficulty with young children, prams and bikes changing trains to and from crowded metropolitan rail. The Gippsland area is being promoted as a great tourist region with economic benefits and as a way of overcoming the demise of the coal and timber mill industry and continual rail service is a must for this to succeed.

Other frequent users of the system are our people who work in the metropolitan centres and choose to live in the regional and rural areas here for the lifestyle and community opportunities that we have. The current system is unreliable and often runs late, this additional transfer and changeover time will add to the already overly long trip and decrease the reliability of the transport system to them, not to mention the additional time needed to be added to the start of the trip, getting up earlier, the changes in timetables that will be required etc.

We understand that the cost of upgrading the metropolitan system is a burden, but can Gippsland at least have the same standard as the other Victorian regions, that our Melbourne trains actually go to Melbourne, as they now do.

The Federal Minister for Infrastructure who is a resident here has promised his support in working with the state government to help sort the congestion problem.

We ask that you do not accept this part of the report from the citizens jury on face value and seek further consultation with the impacted communities and federal counterparts as you work towards an upgrading of the lines to at least the standard that the other Victorian Regions rail systems already have.

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Showing 949 reactions

Natasha Tynan signed 2016-08-08 07:55:02 +1000
Lisa Hocking signed 2016-08-08 07:47:27 +1000
Margie Neal signed 2016-08-08 07:44:03 +1000

When we already have such limited access to public transport, it seems incredibly ridiculous to take away access to Melbourne. Not everyone is in a position to be able to drive a car for transport. When will you realise Victoria doesn’t stop just outside Melbourne?
Laura Duggan signed 2016-08-08 07:32:27 +1000
Elizabeth Stevens signed 2016-08-08 07:16:16 +1000
Bianca Laws signed 2016-08-08 06:59:34 +1000
Jenny Jones posted about this on Facebook 2016-08-08 06:56:32 +1000
A Melbourne train should go to Melbourne, why does the Gippsland regional line get substandard service recommended?
Barbara Fox signed 2016-08-08 06:53:44 +1000

Unbelievable stupidity to even consider such an idea
Matt Turner signed 2016-08-08 06:17:43 +1000
Karen Thurgood signed 2016-08-08 05:58:11 +1000

Karen Thurgood
Bert Nakken signed 2016-08-08 05:57:28 +1000

This will also affect those working in Melbourne and could impact the pressure on the road system. It could also impact the further development of the region
Andrew Taylor signed 2016-08-08 05:55:00 +1000
Hannah Bruce signed 2016-08-08 05:44:32 +1000

Terminating the Gippsland Line at Pakenham is simply ridiculous. Why bother using Vline at all? Switch to metro for Pakenham customers and ensure that vline runs express past every station from Pakenham towards the city.

The problems we continue to experience with the Bairnsdale services may even be improved by excluding the outer suburbs of Melbourne from our run. This service is essential to the east Gippsland area and cannot be taken away.
Brian Eagle signed 2016-08-08 03:19:10 +1000
vicki robinson signed 2016-08-08 03:18:45 +1000

vicki robinson
Janine Abbott signed 2016-08-08 01:59:09 +1000

My daughter and I have to commute to Melbourne on a regular basis as my granddaughter has medical problems often we have to bring her from surgery to home on the same day wearing her new cast and this makes it extremely awkward to move her around as it is a body cast taking her from taxi to one train is hard enough for her without more changes and stops on the way home and I think we deserve to have a comfortable comute if we are to be on a train for hours we most definitely do not need more time added on to trip that already is streched by trains running late we need this line open.
Debra Neilson signed 2016-08-08 00:38:39 +1000
Amy Wilson signed 2016-08-07 23:51:37 +1000
Bruce Race signed via Gary Hammarstrom 2016-08-07 23:40:54 +1000

What the Government want to do here is absolutely absurd.
Tracey Loft signed 2016-08-07 23:19:59 +1000
Petra Quinlan-Turner signed 2016-08-07 23:19:05 +1000
Lorraine Johnstone signed 2016-08-07 23:10:57 +1000

I recently traveled on the Seymour line into Southen Cross Station. Then caught connection to Drouin on Traralgon line. Far better service from Seymour; carriages & journey (slow) to Drouin worse. Proposal to change trains at Pakenham an insult to Gippsland commuters. We need upgrade, not downgrade!!
Ugly (Al) Chung signed 2016-08-07 23:10:26 +1000

Send something on what you are doing to [email protected] from time to time. Also see the-pen-co (not com) if you haven’t seen it already.
John Worters signed 2016-08-07 22:58:26 +1000

…I am a 5 day a week Gippsland VLine rail user – the Gippsland line has the lowest level of reliability of any VLine route. The proposal to terminate VLine Gippsland services at Pakenham, is outrageous – particularly given the dedicated service direct to Melbourne other regional cities receive via the regional rail link, whilst Gippsland line commuters continue to be compromised by having to compete with metropolitan trains. That this recommendation has come from a state government instituted body with NO Gippsland representative -and NO Gippsland input, yet purports to know what is in the best interests of Gippsland regional development – and Gippsland commuters – highlights a major flaw in the Victorian Government’s position on genuine represesentative community consultation – who in GIoppsland was consulted about this proposal?…
Shawn Coombs signed 2016-08-07 22:51:36 +1000
Tony Peck signed 2016-08-07 22:49:50 +1000

The integrated train service that is essential to our region must remain as one train all the way to and from Melbourne. People of all ages and abilities rely on the ease of access and for such a long journey, guaranteed seating as essential to enable their access to all normal services available in Melbourne.
Sheryn Roberts signed 2016-08-07 22:44:17 +1000
Lachlan MacDougall signed 2016-08-07 22:11:39 +1000
Kristian King signed 2016-08-07 21:58:08 +1000
Colette Jewell signed 2016-08-07 21:58:05 +1000

An additional express track would benefit metropolitan and regional services. While the Skyrail is being built an extra track could be included in those sections.