Media Releases

Minister for Transport Terry Mulder will visit Shepparton in October at the request of State Member for Shepparton Jeanette Powell.

Mrs Powell said she was pleased the Minister had accepted her invitation to come to Shepparton to meet with several organisations about a variety of transport matters.

“My office has been liaising with Mr Mulder’s office to put together an agenda for his visit which has now been confirmed,” Mrs Powell said.

“Mr Mulder will meet with representatives from the City of Greater Shepparton, the Goulburn Valley Hwy Action Group and Shepparton RAILS as well as inspect Doyles Rd roundabout and the Shepparton Railway station,” Mrs Powell said.

Mr Mulder and Mrs Powell will travel together from Melbourne to Shepparton on the evening train on October 19 and Mr Mulder will travel back to Melbourne by train the following day.

“It is good the Minister will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the train trip from Melbourne to Shepparton and return,” Mrs Powell said.

“I am sure the visit will be beneficial for the Minister and the organisations involved.

“I have met with Shepparton RAILS several times and have taken a deputation of representatives from the City of Greater Shepparton to meet with Minister Mulder in Melbourne.

“This follow-up meeting will be a good opportunity for the Minister to hear firsthand the concerns that have been raised with him,” Mrs Powell said.

Dear Sir,
I welcome the local Labor Party Branch’s public support for fast rail services on the Shepparton/Melbourne line and improved links to Cobram; however they must be referring to their local Labor MPs when they said local MPs have sat in silence on this matter.
My Coalition colleagues and I have never sat in silence on matters of public transport.
Over the last 7 years I have continually raised issues in Parliament and personally with the Minister for Public Transport, and met with the VLine General Manager of Stakeholders Relations to resolve service issues.
The $4 million program to upgrade the Albury/Shepparton line to improve train speeds came after one of these meetings as did the reintroduction of the afternoon train/coach service in 2007.
I have raised concerns with the Minister regarding lack of shelter, lack of seating and lack of information regarding late changes of platforms at Southern Cross Station.
I have called for improved services including more staff so that the Shepparton Railway Station remains open until the last train and bus service and collected names on a petition calling for the government to bring back rail services to Cobram.
Recently I met with the Mayor and CEO of the City of Greater Shepparton to discuss the need for Sprinter train services between Shepparton and Seymour to better meet the needs of our community.
I have written to the Minister urging him to conduct a review of the current Shepparton VLine train and bus services and timetables, including the introduction of Sprinter trains.
As one of the fastest growing regions in the state a quality public transport system is crucial to the liveability of our region.
It was the Labor Minister for Public Transport, Martin Pakula who stated in the media that Shepparton is not a priority to receive increased services or Vlocity trains.
I will continue to lobby the Labor government to get improved rail services and I urge Labor MPs to do the same.