Frequency of services, overcrowded trains and infrastructure that hasn’t kept up with Melton’s growth rate were only a few of the issues discussed at a Public Transport Victoria forum last week.
While fewer than a dozen people attended the forum in Melton South, all agreed PTV needed to put more services on the Ballarat line, extend the timetable from Southern Cross to Ballarat until later at night and add more carriages.
“We used to have one train every hour, but in June, for the first time, they gave us a train every half an hour, which is a good thing,” one commuter said at the forum.
“But after 6pm, it goes back to every hour and the last train from Southern Cross [on the weekend] is at 10.15… if you’re coming home from the city late at night, you have no hope of catching a train.”
Some commuters said they had to drive to Watergardens or Sunshine stations to pick up their children if they were coming home late by train.
While the frequency of services had increased during peak times since the Regional Rail Link timetable was unveiled in June, commuters said they felt short-changed because nothing had changed in off-peak times. “A lot of people are standing up [on the train],” another commuter said.
“I was in the carriage at 10am and I still had to stand up; there were only three carriages.
“By the time the train from Ballarat gets to Melton it’s full.
“In peak hours, schoolkids are sitting on the floor.”
People at the forum pleaded with PTV to “please just give us a service so we can use it”.
“Compare Geelong to us. Their last service leaves Southern Cross at 1.10am; it’s not fair,” one said.
“And they have a service every half hour. It’s not right. Are we a forgotten suburb? Makes you wonder if we are.”
A similar forum was held at Bacchus Marsh on the same day.
The purpose of the forums was to allow PTV and V/Line to hear from residents about their ideas for the public transport needs of Melton and Bacchus Marsh.
