Visitor frustration
It is easy to argue that tourists are shunning the Wodonga Information Centre given its current hard-to-access location.
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On Monday, at approximately 11am, I witnessed a couple towing a caravan attempting to turn onto High Street from the eastern side of the newly aligned Melbourne road.
They then had to travel down High Street and park just before the Water Tower.
I had pulled over further up High Street and walked down to speak to them.
They expressed their frustration at the Information Centre’s location and the lack of suitable parking. I have previously spoken to others that have expressed similar frustration.
The council needs to seriously consider the real problems behind the Information Centre not being utilised before making any decisions in regards to its future.
Jason Wright, Wodonga
Nats have got nothing
I couldn't agree more with Bridget McKenzie – people just want the North-East rail line fixed properly.
The issue for Senator McKenzie and the federal Liberal-National government is that no one thinks $100 million will fix the North-East line properly except them.
In Senate estimates earlier this year, Secretary of the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Mike Mrdak, said that upgrading the track would cost at least $130 million.
In fact, he said it could cost considerably more than that if you repaired the subgrade of the track, which he said ideally you would do.
We can only go off what the experts say, and the head of the Turnbull Government's own Infrastructure Department says $100 million isn't enough.
There is every reason to remain sceptical of the Turnbull Government's claims that their investment will fix the track properly.
In last week's Budget, the Turnbull Government reneged on the Asset Recycling deal, meaning $1.45 billion in critical regional rail upgrades will either be delayed, or not go ahead at all.
It would have been the biggest upgrade to regional rail in Victoria's history but the Nationals – with their Liberal friends – have gutted it.
This sort of neglect is exactly why the Federal Coalition no longer represents this part of Victoria.
If this federal budget is an example of what the Nationals can achieve – as Senator McKenzie says it is – then there is less reason to vote for them than ever.
Jacinta Allan Victorian Minister for Public Transport
Train debate a joke
Rail transport and passenger travel is vital and in most parts of the developed world it is modern and efficient and has been kept up to standards.
In Australian, between our two biggest state capitals, train travel is old and unreliable and has been run down for years.
The talk about trains is always about the the south east into Victoria.
It is time the Sydney end was part of the solution as well and the NSW government needs to get on board to make a rail service between Sydney and Melbourne what it should be now.
We need trains in the style and shape of the trains that operate between Paris and London or Berlin to Rome or Barcelona to Frankfurt, for a few examples, or the amazing trains in Poland.
These trains are fast, they are modern and they are well used.
The debate is a joke and is continuing to go nowhere while politicians keep passing the buck and choose to build another airport in Sydney that the private sector rejected outright.
Australia needs to make rail important and catch up fast. Currently our rail service is about India or Thailand level.