Regional commuters will get more seating on the new and revamped V/Line trains, but the extra seats will replace a toilet and space to park a bicycle and stow luggage.
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On Monday, Premier Daniel Andrews and public transport minister Jacinta Allan unveiled the new VLocity trains at the Bombardier manufacturing site in Dandenong, nearly one month out from the state election.
The first new regional train will be on the network by November 1 under the $313 million program that will see 13 trains progressively rolled out on the busiest lines.
An extra 14 seats will be added to every train carriage, but it will come at a cost.
The extra seating will replace one of two toilets on the three-carriage trains and remove space for bicycles and luggage.
Mr Andrews said the upgrades would mean “more seating, better amenity for passengers, better disability access as well as other technology upgrades in terms of mobile phone reception being able to work while you are on the train".
The state government would not specify which lines the new trains would run on, saying only they would be used on the busiest regional routes.
Cycling lobby group Bicycle Network slammed the government’s plan to remove space for bicycles.
“There isn’t enough room for bikes on VLocity carriages as it is,” the group's chief executive Craig Richards said.
The plan would cut the travel time between Ararat and Melbourne by about half an hour and would return passenger rail to Horsham. The project will be planned and built in three stages across 10 years.
Eight western Victorian councils have actively campaigned for the return of passenger rail to Horsham and Hamilton since April last year. The Coalition pledged funding for a business case earlier this year, and reaffirmed that commitment earlier this month with its new plans for passenger rail.
The government has not made any commitments for passenger rail in the region.
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