Libs only been in power a couple of months in Victoria and already doing what Liberal governments do - cutting services

From the Herald Sun website

COMMUTERS have slammed a government decision to slash city train services in the biggest shakeup in over a decade.

It comes as Transport Minister Terry Mulder confirmed plans to slash hundreds of train services through the city loop and cut the number of express trains on some lines.

Under the proposal, the Frankston, Werribee and Williamstown lines will start "cross-city running" at off-peak times, running from Melbourne's southern suburbs to the west, instead of terminating in the city.

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Has Terry Mulder got it right? How will the changes work for you? Tell us below.

Fairfax reports the move is the first stage of a wider overhaul of all 15 of the city's lines, to be completed by next year.

It is the new minister's first major initiative since the November election.

Mr Mulder said he had been advised to cut the services to enable more reliable services.

"There will be some inconvenience," he told Fairfax.

"I can only go on the advice that I have been given, and that is that untangling the network will provide more [routes] for trains, and do away with trains crossing one another when something goes wrong," he said.

Metro chief Andrew Lezala said the current timetable was dated.

"We need to change the timetables, and design them from scratch so that they can work properly. We have spent a lot of money doing that," he said.

Full details of the new timetables are expected to be made public by the start of April.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the new timetable proposal had issues that needed to be addressed urgently.

"There are some pros and cons...perhaps the thing that sticks out the most is that people on the Williamstown and Werribee lines wills see a reduction in services. It's clearly a downgrade for those passengers," Mr Bowen said.

"I hope Terry Mulder does appreciate a lot more needs to be done in public transport.

"Public Transport had a clear influence on the outcome of the election in at least four key seats.

"I hope the coalition government realises they need to provide all of Melbourne with appropriate and reliable services," he said.

Kim, who gets the train from Tooronga on the Glen Waverley line, said the changes would be annoying as she had to start work at 7am.

"I get one of the first trains. I will now have to get off at Richmond," the 27-year-old said.

Hamish Low said the change would be irritating.

The student and retail worker lives in Malvern and catches the train to and from the city from Tooronga station.

"The alternative route is much more time consuming for me, I will probably have to get off at Richmond and it would add on a bit of time," he said.

Another commuter Massoud Alamashah who gets the train too and from Kooyong said the changes would mean he would have to allow more time to get to work.

"It's annoying. I will have to leave earlier."

Metro spokeswoman Geraldine Mitchell said the changes were part of a strategy to build a higher capacity, higher reliability railway with a simple timetable.

"With this timetable change, we have gone back to first principles to enable the untangling of much of the network," she said.

"These changes are part of a step by step process to simplify the timetable by segregating lines to improve the reliability of the railway. "

"whilst I was at learn".....ffs

I was at WORK. 

Bloody typing gaffes.

they haven't done much else Jez, launch an inquiry into Myki threatening to can a project that we're pot committed to and well not much else

read some of the comments linked to the story - people well remember what Kennett did in Victoria and the more they cut the more they'll compare to it and the more likely we are to see a return to Labor after just 1 term

perception can be reality Jez, perception says that the Liberal government is cutting services - people expect that question is will they cop it???

When Hawke / Keating were in power most states were Liberal

When Howard was in most states were Labor

it's how we work Jez, the states going Liberal will actually help keep Labor in power federally, it's an insurance policy of sorts

so your denying that's how it's traditionally worked???

Why don't we need a desalination plant?

And what if there's another 10 year drought like the one we had? What is the point of a damn dam if it doesn't rain?

I can't blame Brummby and co, for not building the dam. It was the Kennet Government that put the blockers on building on the Mitchell and declaring a national park.

Big fkwits IMO. If we would have dammed the Mitchell 12 years ago, we would have had another dam the size of the Thompson built in an area that is a rain belt and virtually drought proof. We would be looking at 60% capacity in our dams even without the current rain that we have had. Before this current downpour in our state, our dams were at 25% capacity.

If the geniuses in Government still thought that we needed a desal plant, they could have commissioned one for 1 billion dollars, not the 5.4 billion that this one will cost.

LTF i think you're pretty well with spot on re NSW - Labor is rancid and have to go - I just hope the Liberals don't make it worse

Re desal, as Joel said - what if there's another drought?  and there will be - dams don't fill themselves, the desal plant is an insurance policy

Wombleoz, whats the story with your profile

Very bare.

Get some photos mate.  [;)]

Betting interests, About me info, etc etc

Galaxy polling released today shows NSW Labor at 20% on primary vote.



Coalition 50%
Greens 15%




PS - Greens and Independents to cop a hammering imo, helped somewhat by the NSW Labor unpopularity but overall, I think people are waking up to the Greens - with there Federal Parliament antics, etc.

Sure wombleoz.  Everybody knows the Greens are in bed with Labor anyway.

Theres no "balance" within the Greens.  There's certainly no centre in The Greens.

And what nonsense about policies.

Before Christmas the Coalition released a raft of policies with an aim to making NSW number one again - Kenneally has nothing, she opens her mouth, she sounds desperate.

Goodnight NSW Labor and good fkn riddance.

Hi Womble, have had a couple of days off so only just read your post re the desal plant. I didn't say that we shouldn't have one, only that if we had built the Mitchel dam, as we should have, then we could have built a much smaller one at about a 4 billion dollar discount.

latest poll for NSW kk led govt. Support is now 20%.  o'farrel has 60% of the primary vote.Labor tipped to max out at 12 seats  in the next NSW govt.

The issue here is 1 in 5  voters still support labor.WTF??????????

THis leads me to conclude that approx 20 % of the population are totally deluded retards.

Or maybe 15% and the other 5% are comrades.Same thing really.[smiley:crazy]

Wombleoz has a dirty little secret. 

And I'm going to reveal it, because I know he won't. 

Wombleoz supports the re-election of NSW Labor.

.....Because we all know who The Greens will slide into bed with if given the opportunity.

Vote Green and you'll get an extreme agenda ( that WILL affect you ), you'll get grubby filthy power deals and you'll get MORE LABOR! [>o]

One way to stop rot.

One REAL way to get CHANGE.

The only way.

Vote



or



....Time to make NSW, number one again

No question as all - as bad as NSW Labor are, I'd much rather see them back in power than Porky O'Barrell

LTF, no doubt they could've done better and saved a lot of dollars but....

Unfortunately they didn't

If you want a definition of blinkered bias which i referred t6o in my first post, it's in the dictionary under Womble Oz and Jez melbourne punter. Not having a go boys, just stating the facts.

When you can't say about a political party that you support, that they were totally wrong and what they did no longer deserves your support,  then you are blinkered biased to the extreme.

Intelligent people are not blinkered biased. They have the capacity to delineate between support for a political party and not supporting it when they have completely stuffed up.

Only blinkered biased Labour voters would vote for the party in N.S.W. If you are a Labour voter and can't bring yourself to vote against them in NSW, then vote informal or vote for the loony left party known as the Greens. Nothing, except total blinkered bias, can possibly justify a vote for Labour.

Come on LTF.  I'm bias, but I'm no wombleoz.

I'm critical of aspects of Coalition policy and I'm willing to admit mistakes have been made by Coalition governments.

I cannot think of a Coalition government that has sunk, though, to the depths of NSW Labor.  NSW is rotting, slowly, but surely.

Scandals, waste, debt, CORRUPTION even.  And thats just the start of the deep rotting core of NSW Labor over the past 15 or so years.

And wombleoz can only muster:  "but his Porky O'Barrell"

How sad and pathetic.  Honestly.

Fair dinkum.  I don't think blinkered bias can justify support for NSW Labor, LTF.

wombleoz is driven by a dangerous ideology.