V/Line rail group out in the cold – founder says it's ignored

It said the Labor government had not even bothered to tell the customer reference group whether it still existed.

The member for Euroa and Nationals Deputy Leader Steph Ryan said she had written to Transport Minister Jacinta Allan urging her to renew the government’s support for the group.

But Border rail campaigner Bill Traill, who has represented Albury on the group, said he was “ambivalent” about whether the group survived.

“In the end, we were dealing with a lot of secondary items and items that have been canvassed before,” he said.

“There are many elements of the service that haven’t really improved over time.

“A lot of the concerns from customers were created by poor track conditions and we couldn’t get anywhere on improving those conditions.

“The Australian Rail Track Corporation is hell-bent on denying there are problems with the track and say all problems have been resolved.

“I feel I have contributed well to the customer reference group, but I doubt there’s any future value in it.”

Mr Traill said “fragile and aged” rolling stock were causing operational problems, and only train upgrades would fix the issues.

He said the Border Rail Action Group had organised a meeting with senior government figures in May to discuss the main problems with services.

V/Line yesterday announced there would be disruptions on the problem-plagued Albury line, with coaches ordered to replace some services next weekend.

A spokeswoman said maintenance on two of the three Albury trains on Saturday and Sunday would see some services replaced.

The spokeswoman said V/Line was working with the government “to determine the best way forward” regarding the customer reference group.