That is really a lot of lines closed and stations.  Imagine if that Idiot Kennett had closed the Melbourne to Geelong railway line as was propose din the Leonie report?

Kennett was going to close the Geelong to Warrnambool line but instead privatised it and West Coast Rail took it over and the service was brilliant until it was returned to V/Line.

Did the rail service to Shepparton enjoy a lift in service the same way Warrnambool did?

League tables and the political parties and politicians who perpetrated the closure of railway lines in Victoria

How many times do we have to go through this? The bazillions of hopeless little branch lines were not sustainable and had to go.

The Lonie report did not, in fact, propose closing the Geelong line, so stop talking about something you know nothing about.

And stop mindlessly rebroadcasting stupid crap like this.

How many times do we have to go through this? The bazillions of hopeless little branch lines were not sustainable and had to go.

The Lonie report did not, in fact, propose closing the Geelong line, so stop talking about something you know nothing about.

And stop mindlessly rebroadcasting stupid crap like this.

Did you read the article?

How many times do we have to go through this? The bazillions of hopeless little branch lines were not sustainable and had to go.

The Lonie report did not, in fact, propose closing the Geelong line, so stop talking about something you know nothing about.

And stop mindlessly rebroadcasting stupid crap like this.

Did you read the article?

More Posting of RRA SHIET propaganda. Please stop creating little threads, We should just have ONE thread for RRA Propaganda to be sprouted in

That is really a lot of lines closed and stations.  Imagine if that Idiot Kennett    

League tables and the political parties and politicians who perpetrated the closure of railway lines in Victoria

Interesting your speaking of IDIOTS...............

BigShunter.

How many times do we have to go through this? The bazillions of hopeless little branch lines were not sustainable and had to go.

The Lonie report did not, in fact, propose closing the Geelong line, so stop talking about something you know nothing about.

And stop mindlessly rebroadcasting stupid crap like this.

The Geelong line was the only 'regional' line that was spared from the Lonie report. However perhaps in the early drafts of the report before it was finally handed to the Minister, just maybe Geelong was included and possibly local Liberal party political pressure had it removed from the report.

I well remember friends of mine in Castlemaine, who were shunters and yard assistants being very nervous indeed at the thought of losing their jobs all those years ago.

Shunters and yard assistants at Castlemaine...who'd have thought..

Mike.

I vote for the reopening of Lancefield to Kilmore line. This line was closed in 1897...50 years before our whinging friends blamed John Cain Sr for starting the truncation of Victoria's Railways.

https://www.victorianrailways.net/grades/lancekil/lancekil.html

Mike.

That is really a lot of lines closed and stations.  Imagine if that Idiot Kennett    

League tables and the political parties and politicians who perpetrated the closure of railway lines in Victoria

Interesting your speaking of IDIOTS...............

BigShunter.

You think Jeff Kennett did a good job?

Shunters and yard assistants at Castlemaine...who'd have thought..

Mike.

They shall rise again! Around mid next year I reckon. Won't be on the main but on one of Lonie's closed branchlines instead!

BG

That is really a lot of lines closed and stations.  Imagine if that Idiot Kennett    

League tables and the political parties and politicians who perpetrated the closure of railway lines in Victoria

Interesting your speaking of IDIOTS...............

BigShunter.

You think Jeff Kennett did a good job?

Kennett may be many things but an idiot he is not. His credentials are on display for all to see. He may have done things that you and I didn't like but that does not make him an idiot.

And Shunter calling you an idiot (Or was he talking about the RRA.......) does not mean the thinks Kennett did a good job either, that is a ridiculous assertion.

BG

I vote for the reopening of Lancefield to Kilmore line. This line was closed in 1897...50 years before our whinging friends blamed John Cain Sr for starting the truncation of Victoria's Railways.

https://www.victorianrailways.net/grades/lancekil/lancekil.html

Mike.

What a ridiculous idea. The Outer Circle should be done first. Complete with dead end turnback station at Clifton Hill (or was it Victoria Park)

And while we are at it the Shelbourne line was a nice little ride in the country to pick up 2 GYs of grain and an empty louvre van, just needs a few bridges re-done and bingo!

BG

There still waiting at Yanac,should be a high priority reopening, especially now that Evil is back home in the slammer.

Did you read the article?

Yep, I did, which is more than you can say in 95% of cases.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to catch the down Bolangum Flagship.

Then you would have read the Leonie report included deprecation of the Melbourne to Geelong Railway Line.

Sir John McEwen was a Federal Country (National) Party MP and Deputy PM (and PM for a little while).

Sir John McDonald perhaps, early 1950s. Up there with the reintroduction of knighthoods by he who shall remain nameless.






Sent from my iPad on Briagolong platform.

That is really a lot of lines closed and stations.  Imagine if that Idiot Kennett    

League tables and the political parties and politicians who perpetrated the closure of railway lines in Victoria

Interesting your speaking of IDIOTS...............

BigShunter.

You think Jeff Kennett did a good job?

Kennett may be many things but an idiot he is not. His credentials are on display for all to see. He may have done things that you and I didn't like but that does not make him an idiot.

And Shunter calling you an idiot (Or was he talking about the RRA.......) does not mean the thinks Kennett did a good job either, that is a ridiculous assertion.

BG

Correct BG, weather you like or hate Big Jeff, he was a leader, LNP hasn't had one since and he ( they lnp ) had a massive job to do, to turn the states economy around and weather you agree with the way it was done, is a separate issue, especially from 25 years of hind sight.

And for all the rocket scientist's, who still love to bash, Big Jeff, how would have you gone about rectifying the states crippling debt, at that stage ?

BG, I wouldn't call people idiots, more likely &@$& Wits.    

For nostalgic reasons, how about Horsham, Natimuk, Balmoral, Cavendish to Hamilton and onto a, only just functioning Portland Port.  

BigShunter.

Victoria had an obsession with silly branch lines that would service a few small country towns with 500 Pax or for a grain train that would run once a week. Closing them was good policy the RRA just needs to deal with it. Can you imagine today running a service to far flung country town 4 times a day with 20 pax on the train. Would need to spend millions to keep the line up to scratch, maintain fleet and pay staff all for a few thousand in revenue. Get a grip RRA, absolute propaganda.

Ask Victorian’s over the border here about power prices caused by Jeff.

Sure some branch lines went but a lot of unnecessary cuts were also made.

Ask Victorian’s over the border here about power prices caused by Jeff.

Sure some branch lines went but a lot of unnecessary cuts were also made.

Ok Bill, I will ask you again, where would have you started and what would you have cut ?

BigShunter.

Then you would have read the Leonie report included deprecation of the Melbourne to Geelong Railway Line.

Indeed I did read that, and I chuckled heartily.

There are two possibilities. The first is that the RRA has no qualms about promoting bald-faced lies to people too uninformed to know better. The second is that Mr Ramsey and his ilk are equally ill-informed and simply misconstrue facts to suit their agenda.

I think the total lack of respect for the English language pushes me toward the latter. Regardless, this propaganda has now progressed to the point of being utterly untrue, and I implore @bevans to stop giving such disinformation oxygen by republishing it on Railpage.

I vote for the reopening of Lancefield to Kilmore line. This line was closed in 1897...50 years before our whinging friends blamed John Cain Sr for starting the truncation of Victoria's Railways.

https://www.victorianrailways.net/grades/lancekil/lancekil.html

Mike.

I could actually see the section to Romsey reopening as an extension of the Sunbury line one day in the future. Google Maps still has a line representing the track branching off from Clarkefield.

Then you would have read the Leonie report included deprecation of the Melbourne to Geelong Railway Line.

WHO DIS LEONIE? And is she self deprecating or just the ordinary kind.

BG

If we are going to bring back some of the old branch lines, may I suggest the old Lal Lal Racecourse branchline. The Racecourse is long gone, but that is only a mere technicality.

Or maybe the Waubra line. It could even be electrified, drawing power from the Waubra wind farm.


------

There are plenty of old branchlines that lived out the term of their natural lives. What does it matter which side of politics was in power at the time they were closed? It doesn't.

Yes, Jeffrey did perhaps over do it (Bairnsdale, Ararat/ Dimboola and Mildura should have remained open to passenger services IMO) but that's easy to say now, what with the post RFR boom in VLP patronage and the state's current positive financial situation. It was a vastly different story in 1993. Victoria wasn't known as the rustbucket state for nothing.

Did you read the article?

Have you ever read the Lonie Report? Or even just the Wikipedia article about it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonie_Report

If you had you would know that not only were most of the recommendations of the report never instigated but the public outcry that followed it's release lead directly to the New Deal which began to reverse the long term decline in passenger numbers on country trains.

It also recommended the introduction of the Zoned fare system on the metropolitan system, another innovation that is said to have lead to increased patronage.

As has been said time and time again on RP, the Lonie Report let to the New Deal. Increased patronage from the New Deal led to the Sprinter order. Increased patronage (and lower running costs) from the Sprinter order led to Regional Fast Rail and the V/Locities. V/Line is now swamped with passengers as a result of the RFR and RRL and the state is now looking at a massive increase in spending on Regional Rail as they try to catch up with the spiralling demand.

So thanks Mr Lonie. I'm sure you didn't mean to but you got us to where we are today, whether we like it or not!

BG

It was a vastly different story in 1993. Victoria wasn't known as the rustbucket state for nothing.

Victoria was only known as the 'rustbucket state' by the Murdoch Press...that's our old friends the Herald-Sun and the Liberal Party which had to tone down the rhetoric lest the ratings agencies believed how bad things weren't and reduce our credit rating accordingly.

Joan was a conservation pioneer.

http://theconversation.com/joan-kirner-united-farmers-and-conservationists-to-care-for-the-land-42746

Part of the legacy inherited from the Cain years was John Cain's insistence on NOT raising state taxes among other nation leading achievements, FoI, prostitution reform, Sunday football, the Tennis Centre among others.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labors-party-poopers-shun-a-great-state-achiever-20110430-1e22e.html

On a lighter note, I also remember Cains Transport Minister Steve Crabb describing the renovating of the later Harris cars under his stewardship as H Cars, as being a temporary arrangement.

Mike.