A few source articles I went looking for:
http://www.warragulcitizen.com/local/liberals-to-let-pakenham-city-commuters-back-on-vline159http://pakenham.starcommunity.com.au/gazette/2015-06-17/free-to-ride-under-guy/Don't listen to him.
His conduct on the east west link along with Napthine was an outrage.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-state-election-2014/minister-ignored-business-case-when-approving-plans-for-68-billion-road-20141125-11tpi2.html
Just one of the article sources to the corrupt conduct surrounding this trouble. Give this answer in court still continued as planning minister and today he is the opposition leader.
They are also a one term state government of Victoria, and their behavior in relation to the east west link is just one of the reasons they were majority voted out.
A bullet point summary:
- Labor before was led by Brumby, and his incompetence was extremely disgusting, the conduct with myki, one example for him.
- Then we switched him out with Ted Ballieu, I believe not many voting for him would regard him as a saint anyway, he also said he would get rid of myki, then, he didn't, because the contract would have a $2 billion exit fee. We didn't want a public transport system overall being downgraded in it's effectiveness by a ticketing system which will lower it's quality standards further than it has now done.
- Then Napthine took over and they got weaker when they brought up the east west link, a project it itself would have business case that shoots itself and they hid it from us. They didn't handle the issue with Geoff Shaw properly and eventually they were shooting each other up, and labor had the opportunity to kick him out when Napthine finally gave up on depending on him.
- But labor wouldn't vote him out, either they wanted to keep him there to ensure more people would sway away from Napthine or, knowing that Napthine would sign those contracts even though they wouldn't pass into act.
- This was all surrounding an equal number of labor and liberal seats with Geoff shaw an independent, resigning from the liberal party. Effectively himself was the sole decider for the passage of any legislation.
- Election is November 29th 2014
- Just before caretaker mode October 2014, Napthine signs contracts, hasn't passed as legislation in parliament, and Labor still keeps to their position of official opposition, but wouldn't cancel them if they were signed.
- As the greens begin to gain more attention from voters, labor changes their position, extremely suspicious whether they would go through with their word to cancel contracts.
- Now that they have done so, but we have on word on a Doncaster rail link.
This is just a short summary of key problems and dissatisfying behaviour from both liberal and labor, from the period of Brumby to now on the day of this post. The concealment and obfuscation from both parties is paramount.
Some reading this may wonder how this entire body of passage will be relevant to this thread and discussion, why would it be, you may ask?
It is because this is how we should be evaluating them on their conduct and it is vital to reflect on this in order to weigh it up to this issue and the debates that would be discussed in the future as they come up.
And in relation to this thread, looking at how it works, if I regularly used Pakenham station, I would want to use the V/line train from there to travel express all the way into the city. It's seating is comfortable, a vast majority of stations are skipped if the CBD is my destination, I could even use it to get off at dandenong or caulfield quickly for connections.
Compare this to a metro train, grotesque marks of vandalism left behind, the seating is not as comfortable and it will take much more time for them to travel as it must service every metro station to Caulfield.
V/line passengers are sick of it as indicated and believe people in metro area should not be allowed to utilize a V/line country train. That is reasonable in a perspective of a metro train is a good quality service, runs on time, clean and not vandalized with graffiti. But it is not a service that possesses this quality. It is severely run down in terms of quality and effectiveness in delivering services to mention a couple of these points.
It's also a service where you are significantly at greater risk of being a victim of assault, metro services do not have a conductor as V/line services do.
Metro passengers experience these problems from a day to day basis and they are sick of it, which is why so many do not want to travel on them if a V/line service can give them the alternative. If your train is delayed and gets stuck in the middle between stations would you prefer to be on a metro train or a v/line train?
As the rule is changed metro passengers must use only metro trains, then you must invest efforts in providing a metro service that is reliable, clean and overall efficient and effective, give it a significant upgrade. Is it going to be the case after this rule is imposed?
The issue of Pakenham passengers not being able to board V/line trains, Andrews is removing crossings for a start and initiating projects on building high capacity trains:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/andrews-government-to-spend-13b-on-highcapacity-trains-20150629-gi0ek0.htmlhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-31/victorian-labor-dumps-major-rail-upgrade-announces-new-project/6361250
The impression is that there will be more trains, for higher frequencies, coming from these articles. The quality of the passenger saloon/cabin, unsure, if they can be cleaner and less prone to damage from vandalism it would be better.
Currently the way the system is run, it's why there are many around the Pakenham area who do not appreciate this at all, the V/line passengers I hope, could sometimes spare a thought to the reality of metro train travel, it's very tough in peak hours for regional commuters when you have to stand all the way, but people on the Pakenham line are being served a substandard quality they don't deserve, everybody in the metro area is.
I would like to have the right to ride V/line trains from Pakenham to the CBD. The V/line passengers don't want additional passengers from metro as it takes up more room when it's overcrowded. It takes more space when there are more frequent trains with metro, but if only metro services were of high standards and quality.
The metro services need to be drastically improved and provide every metro passenger a truly reasonable alternative.
Which is why this stunt from Matthew Guy is flabbergasting. It is ignorant of the severe chronic problem not just confined to the issue of train frequency, but breakdown and cancellation rates that occur with metro trains, refusing to deal with the issue of the metropolitan train system that is underfunded and lacking in quality.
Give back the arrangement of permitting metro passengers on V/line trains in Pakenham, what about the metro trains service quality? What about the metro rail tunnel that your party refused to build calling the construction period a 'Berlin Wall' for Melbourne?
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/swanston-street-ripup-for-melbourne-metro-rail-akin-to-berlin-wall-napthine-20140217-32v55.html
Stick up a 'Melbourne rail link' going from South Yarra to Fishermans bend to Southern Cross. What is your plan to improve metropolitan train services? The last one of the stunts was just to send an X'trap down the Frankston line, the suspension on them are the least comfortable compared with the Comengs and the Siemens.
I do not appreciate Labor in the lead up to the election, I still am disappointed that the cancellation of the East West Link, is not resulting in an alternative transport project to address the chronic overcrowding of Eastern Freeway traffic.
We want a party voted in to government that will do better than red and blue, they are incompetent and pathetic. The opposition is still running with it's hidden agenda, they are still obfuscating their intention to advance their vested interests, dressing up removal of metro passengers from V/line trains as a backward solution, at the same time insensitively calling their solution to reverse the change as correct motion while refusing to discuss a real alternative to begin overhauling and critically upgrading our public transport system to be universally co-ordinated and efficient, metropolitan and regional.
We do not want your sub standard public transport agenda and your conduct demonstrated in relation to the East West Link coming back
There is in no way they are an appropriate alternative party for government