Saturday 25 June, 2011

Communities from Seymour to Albury welcomed the return of V/Line trains back to the Border, in a move that will see a boost to the region’s tourism, Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder said today.

Officially opening the new Wodonga Station, Mr Mulder said it was an historic occasion not only for Albury and Wodonga, but north eastern Victoria and southern New Southern Wales that have been without V/Line passenger trains since November 2008.

“This has been a long time coming for Seymour, Avenel, Euroa, Violet Town, Benalla, Wangaratta, Springhurst, Chiltern and Albury / Wodonga whose railway stations will start to see local V/Line passenger trains again from tomorrow,” he said.

“This is also great for the many other towns connected to the railway line by coaches.” In opening the new station, Mr Mulder thanked the Federal Government and Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) for joining with the Victorian Government to fund the $612.8 million upgrade to the Albury / Wodonga rail line. He also acknowledged the work of the South Improvement Alliance, Dhudhuroa Native Title Group, Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation and Wodonga City Council.

A special train departed Melbourne this morning at 7am, picking up community representatives at Seymour. The train then stopped at Benalla and Wangaratta for about half an hour for small ‘welcome back’ events and picked up more local guests before travelling to the new Wodonga Station opening at midday.

Three special shuttle trains also ran today between Wodonga and Albury stations to give Border residents the chance to experience the service that will officially start from tomorrow morning.

From tomorrow (Sunday, 26 June), V/Line will run two trains per day, the first leaving Albury at 6:35am and the second to leave Melbourne at 12 noon. Two return coach services will continue to operate until a second train returns in August and the remaining third train each way returns in November this year.

Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley MP, said the return of V/Line trains would be warmly welcomed by the community.

“The community has been waiting a long time for this to happen,” he said.

“By the end of the year there will be three return V/Line trains and two Countrylink XPT trains for local residents and visitors to use to places like Albury, Seymour or Melbourne.

“The importance of a good, frequent train service to local tourism can’t be understated, so there are many businesses and attractions in the region set to benefit as we get more trains back on the line,” Mr Tilley added.

The five refurbished train carriages on each service will have about 370 seats and for the first time, provision has been made for the carriage of bikes in a renovated van.

“Bicycle tourism is one area that is growing significantly in the Wangaratta and Benalla areas in particular, and by having the option to easily travel by train more people are likely to visit,” Mr Mulder said.

V/Line General Manager of Marketing & Stakeholder Relations, Paul Matthews, said the rail
operator was excited about supporting tourism and events in the region as train services continue to return throughout the year.

“North eastern Victoria features some of Victoria’s most spectacular natural tourist attractions, is well supported by good food, wine and accommodation, and features unique rail trails for cyclists that connect well to trains,” Mr Matthews said.

“We think there’s some great potential to boost tourism from Melbourne over time.”

Mr Matthews reminded passengers that the old Wodonga Station closed last night (Friday 24 June) and all train and coach services will operate out of the new Wodonga Station at Carroll Lane from this morning (Saturday 25 June).

The new station brings expanded car parking, new seating and toilet facilities, and significantly more modern facilities for Wodonga passengers.

New timetables for the region are now available online at vline.com.au and printed copies are also available from staffed stations. For further information and bookings, customers are asked to please call 136 196.