PREMIER Denis Napthine was in Ararat on Tuesday morning to announce the Coalition Government's plans to provide an extra 79 weekly V/Line long distance train trips across Victoria if re-elected.
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The $178.1 million promise to improve Victoria's long distance V/Line train frequencies include extra weekly train trips on the Ararat, Albury, Bairnsdale, Echuca, Maryborough, Shepparton, Swan Hill and Warrnambool lines commencing in 2016-17.
Dr Napthine said this was another example of his government's strong commitment to regional and rural rail services and public transport across the state.
"The Victorian Coalition Government wants to double V/Line's long distance train patronage within 20 years," Dr Napthine said.
"This is the biggest single boost to V/Line's long distance trains in the past 30 years."
The V/Line funding would see an extra return weekday train from Ararat Railway Station to Southern Cross Station in Melbourne.
Dr Napthine said that would allow more people to visit Ararat, in turn bringing more money to the region.
"This will also be a significant boost for tourism in regional and rural Victoria...it will provide greater opportunity for tourists from interstate, overseas and Melbourne to visit," he said.
"For example with additional services here to Ararat it will provide greater access through public transport to the Grampians and the attractions of the Ararat region, to this wonderful part of Victoria."
Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder said the service improvements would also provide an additional 50 trips each week between Melbourne and Ballarat.
Mr Mulder said that at Ararat, Sale and Shepparton, V/Line would call for tenders for construction of secure compounds to stable trains overnight while new train crew facilities would be constructed at Bairnsdale, Shepparton and Swan Hill.
"The new secure train compounds will ensure that trains are protected from vandalism and graffiti," he said.
As the current chair of the Central Highlands Group of Councils, Ararat Rural City Mayor Cr Paul Hooper said he welcomed the announcement.
"The Central Highlands Group of Councils covers eight councils that are part of central Victoria, so from a regional point of view the announcement is fantastic and particularly from Ballarat, because the better they are serviced the better we are.
"I am hoping that this extra train service to and from Ararat would give us our service to get into Melbourne pre-9am, but the press release doesn't reflect that, so we'll continue to work on it because I think it is incredibly important for health, education, trade and tourism.
"Anything that improves public transport to our part of the world is a positive."
Cr Hooper said the Ararat Rural City is currently working with a group of councils to the south and north of the municipality about compiling a feasibility study on returning passenger rail potential from Portland to Ararat via Hamilton and Horsham to Ararat via Stawell.
In order to achieve the study government funding is required.