Bull backsthe return of buffet

By TOMPARRY

DEMAND is growing to reinstate catering facilities on passenger rail services in Gippsland, with Member for Gippsland East Tim Bull being the latest figure to support the cause.

Mr Bull has called on the Public Transport Minister, Ben Carroll, to provide abuffet service on all V/Line long-haul trains that travel directly to and fromMelbourne, including those on the Gippsland line.

“Over recent months there has been an increasing amount of people lodging complaints that they can no longer purchase asnack or adrink on this long-haul route, which is astepbackinservice delivery,” Mr Bull said.

“You would think in this day and age we would be looking to improve services to patrons, but it is not the case here.

“I don’t think it is too much to ask for apassenger on an almost four-hour long train trip to be able to buy something to eat or drink.”

Mr Bull’s pleacomes afterV/Line retiredits fleet of N-class locomotives and carriages on the Gippsland route, and with it the ‘Café Bar’that provided food and beverages to passengers -as reportedbythe Latrobe ValleyExpress/Gippsland Times in September 2022.

All services to and from Bairnsdale are now serviced by high-speed VLocity units.

Mr Bull spoke aboutthe matterinstate Parliament on Tuesday, February 21, notingthat there were “a lot of elderly people” living in his electorate that benefit from the buffet service.

He further noted that aCaféBar wasstill in operation on the Albury line, despite the introduction of VLocity services to that route.

“That should be standard practiceonall long-haul V/Line services in Victoria, and the government ought to… make thatapriority and make surethat is delivered,” Mr Bull told Parliament.

On February 23, Mr Bull askedMinister Carroll whether the Gippsland line will be serviced by the new VLocity buffet carriage that is currently operating on the Albury line.

He also claimed that rail users were reporting to his electorate office “in droves” about poor rail services in Gippsland.

Rail Futures Institute president John Hearsch told the Gippsland Times he was “not at all” surprised by this claim.

“We are hearing the same from communities on other lines which, until fairly recently, have had on-boardcatering services providedand now seem set to lose them,” Mr Hearsch said.

But he cautioned thatthe Albury line’scatering service had“degeneratedinto afarce” withless than 50 per cent of passengers able to access the service.

“This is because on many occasions the facility is not staffed and therefore closed, or it is open for only aportionofthe journey;orwhenthe train consists of six cars (two lots of three-car sets), the facility is only open in one half of the train with no access to passengers from the other half,” Mr Hearsch explained.

Service: GippslandEastMPTim Bull,iscalling forthe reinstatementofon-boardbuffetfacilities on all long-haulV/Line services,including those to Bairnsdale Photograph supplied