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Trains every 40 minutes By STEFAN BRADLEY
Tale of two pubs Photographs: Katrina at Brandon a (Churchill), c Blake Metcalf-Holt t (Moe)
While Churchill was left devastated after fire tore through its pub last week, Moe locals a rejoiced j aas work finallyy began g to demolish the town’s biggest eyesore, the infamous Baw Baw Hotel. STORIES T - PAGE 5
THE Gippland Line Upgrade is set to finally be completed this year after a number of delays and cost blow-outs, but local commuters will need to put up with nearly two months of coach replacement services to accommodate a rush of construction for the new signaling system. The state government has included $52 million in the 2025-26 Victorian State Budget to deliver train services every 40 minutes along the Traralgon line, plus additional peak services for the Seymour line and longer trains on more weekend services on the Bendigo line. Due to Gippsland Line Upgrade works – along with Victoria’s Big Build works impacting the metropolitan section of the network – coaches will replace trains on the Traralgon and Bairnsdale lines for part or all of the journey between Saturday, June 14, and Wednesday, August 13. The construction blitz will complete and commission the line’s new signalling system, so trains can run more often and more reliably. To complete the new signalling system, crews will carry out various works along the line including installing cabling and trackside signalling equipment between Drouin and Traralgon. Works will also include testing of new infrastructure along the 70-kilometre stretch of rail line and enable trains to safely operate next to the new platforms at Morwell and Traralgon stations. Regional spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), Paul Westcott said the improvements flagged for services on the Gippsland line are positive. “Service frequency is the basic determinant of whether a public transport service is usable or not,” Mr Westcott told the Express. Mr Westcott said it was unfortunate that the infrastructure work that makes the improvements possible is running behind schedule and that “an extended period of bustitutions (coach replacements) beyond Traralgon, stretching over two months, will precede the changes”. “Forty-minute frequencies for trains from Traralgon will be a very positive step. It's certainly likely that passengers will drive to Traralgon from further afield to take advantage of the increased frequency there. Continued - Page 7
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