Save the Gippsland Line

gippsland-line-2.jpg

 

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.

 

1,310 SIGNATURES
1,200 signatures

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Showing 948 reactions

  • Narelle Hancock
    signed 2016-08-06 18:54:45 +1000
  • Cath Lanigan
    signed 2016-08-06 18:52:25 +1000
    Maintain a reasonable service please
  • Jackie Brown
    signed via 2016-08-06 18:50:41 +1000
    My parents are elderly & live in Gippsland. They use this train & I think it would be horrible & confusing for them to change trains at Pakenham.

    Gippsland should have the same service as the rest of Victoria.
  • Ian Martin
    signed 2016-08-06 18:48:34 +1000
    A lot of elderly people and pensioners, disability and aged, rely on the rail connection to Melbourne to access medical and other services that are only available there. Anything that makes it harder for them is a disgrace. Please don’t make it harder!
  • Deborah Woodburn
    signed 2016-08-06 18:45:41 +1000
  • Elizabeth Colvin
    signed 2016-08-06 18:39:06 +1000
  • Sharon Rae
    signed 2016-08-06 18:35:43 +1000
    I commute everyday via Gippsland Vline and this wold my trip slow down considerable and in general be a huge inconvenience
  • Em Ross
    signed 2016-08-06 18:35:41 +1000
    Please do not make us change trains at Packenham.

    Why should we as a big regional area not have our trains go all the way to Southern Cross like other regional areas in Victoria.
  • David Riddell
    signed 2016-08-06 18:35:15 +1000
  • Patricia East
    signed 2016-08-06 18:33:06 +1000
  • Jannette Langley
    signed 2016-08-06 18:30:58 +1000
  • Allan Wood
    signed 2016-08-06 18:30:31 +1000
  • Rhonda Shingles
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-08-06 18:21:53 +1000
    A Melbourne train should go to Melbourne, why does the Gippsland regional line get substandard service recommended?
  • Rhonda Shingles
    signed 2016-08-06 18:21:10 +1000
  • kara worthington
    signed 2016-08-06 18:18:47 +1000
  • Megan Lee
    signed via 2016-08-06 18:18:17 +1000
  • judy smith
    signed 2016-08-06 18:11:56 +1000
  • Richard Atkinson
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-08-06 18:09:51 +1000
    A Melbourne train should go to Melbourne, why does the Gippsland regional line get substandard service recommended?
  • Richard Atkinson
    signed 2016-08-06 18:09:29 +1000
  • Rhonda Mether
    signed 2016-08-06 18:04:05 +1000
    This decision would disadvantage many country commuters as well as adding extra numbers to the already overcrowded Pakenham to City – City to Pakenham metro trains. Imagine what it would be like at peak times with an extra train load of passengers trying to get onto the metro train in order to meet a V-line train at Pakenham. This will force a lot of people back into their cars causing more congestion on our roads.
  • Peter Auger
    signed 2016-08-06 18:02:48 +1000
    Seriously!
  • Nicky Smyth
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-08-06 17:59:04 +1000
    A Melbourne train should go to Melbourne, why does the Gippsland regional line get substandard service recommended?
  • Richard Lang
    signed 2016-08-06 17:58:49 +1000
    The number of Pakenham residents already using the Vline service from Pakenham to the City shows the inability of the Metro services to cater for the existing customer base at Pakenham without adding further to the numbers. If the decision for the installation of the Skyrail had had proper consultation and not blind acceptance of an unsolicited proposal there would have been a better solution for the future of Metro, Vline and freight rail services in the Gippsland corridor.
  • Alice-Mae Keenan
    signed 2016-08-06 17:58:39 +1000
  • Nicole Smyth
    signed 2016-08-06 17:58:37 +1000
  • Carol Wilson
    signed 2016-08-06 17:53:29 +1000
    I work with disadvantaged clients and also know many of them and others not disadvantaged who have to travel to Melbourne for medical appointments and the train is quite a necessary mode of transport. To see it cut would really hinder there ability to get to these appointments. Or, will there be medical services moving to Gippsland to compensate??
  • Annette Tod
    signed 2016-08-06 17:50:56 +1000
    Am reliant on that train to get me to special events and meetings. It already takes 2 hours. It will take up to 3 hours if the train doesn’t go through Melbourne. I vote and I pay taxes and full fares. Come on leave our trains alone
  • Sue Bell
    signed 2016-08-06 17:50:27 +1000
  • Gary Jay
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-08-06 17:48:20 +1000
    A Melbourne train should go to Melbourne, why does the Gippsland regional line get substandard service recommended?
  • Gary Jay
    signed 2016-08-06 17:47:53 +1000
    Successive governments have ripped the guts out of the Latrobe Valley for the last 30 odd years, leave our bloody cline trains alone.