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.
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.
V/Line will now 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.
