Vline to Benalla
I grabbed this here image from Wikipedia. It shows the Seymour line as the unloved stepchild of V Line. This is the line that extends to the Albury-Wodonga line, and is the one I used to frequent.
My personal experience is of buyng a rural property near Benalla in the 2nd half of 2008. I used to cycle there from the train station to plant and water trees, and all was well. I'd typically stay nights at a pub in Benalla, have my hardware delivered from Benalla, buy books and meals there, bring my friends out there and otherwise enjoy things / inject my cash into this country town. In short, having a train service that worked was good for me, was good for Benalla.
Then came the dark times, when Vline "converted to standard gauge" on this line. This innocuous sounding phrase covers a bewildering maelstrom of shit. Professor wiki says this was "between 2008 and 2011", but the reality is that the work was shoddily done, the trains now go slower than they used to, and the cancellations / work continues.
My personal experience is of buyng a rural property near Benalla in the 2nd half of 2008. I used to cycle there from the train station to plant and water trees, and all was well. I'd typically stay nights at a pub in Benalla, have my hardware delivered from Benalla, buy books and meals there, bring my friends out there and otherwise enjoy things / inject my cash into this country town. In short, having a train service that worked was good for me, was good for Benalla.
Then came the dark times, when Vline "converted to standard gauge" on this line. This innocuous sounding phrase covers a bewildering maelstrom of shit. Professor wiki says this was "between 2008 and 2011", but the reality is that the work was shoddily done, the trains now go slower than they used to, and the cancellations / work continues.
Services were, and are, listed in the timetable, but not actually run. I don't think I EVER saw the timetable actually reflect the cancellations. This was true even on public holidays (e.g. this particular Labour Day, 11Mar2013), when a special 1-day .pdf timetable was published... which proudly listed non-existent services.
Cancellations were listed on a different page of the website to the timetables.
Cancellations were listed differently between the Seymour service and the Albury service, even though it's the same line and train, leading to additional confusion - that is, me arriving at the station one time, panniers laden with seedlings, only to discover that my train wasn't operating past Seymour.
The replacement coach drivers were not told Vline policy about bikes, and assumed carrying bikes was OK. The bus driver who took me to Benalla told me
"We always carry bikes", so I joyfully alighted the bus, bike stashed below.
The hell beast who sold me a return ticket at Benalla station (Anne Marie, I believe) insisted on following the letter of the regulations - bikes were not OK. Even if the bus driver was fine with it, even if there was plenty of space in the cargo hold. Even if the bus driver at the Melbourne end had told me "We always carry bikes". Even if it was 36.5 degrees that particular Labour Day. Even if I was prepared for agriculture and snakes (wearing Doc Martens, heavy pants), and not for a long bike ride in the midday sun. Sigh.
I had a normal day's work the next day, kicking off with a meeting at 7:30. This was with a research nurse, the neurosurgery PAC resident, a roaming neurosurgeon (a spinal guy - part of the "all Asian spinal circus") and one of my bosses (this is her only good time, while her first patient of the day is being anesthetized), so being a day late, or even a bit late, wasn't an option. Locking the bike up and returning for it next week wasn't an option I had any faith in (I had once left a cheap bike chained up at a train station, and it was nicked that same night. I wasn't about to risk a fairly good bike for a whole week).
Therefore my only option was to ride 100km of long, gently rolling hills to Seymour, in boots, work gear, and with a fully laden bike (I had a tent and stuff this time). Did i mention it was THIRTY SIX POINT FIVE degrees that day? I was pretty fucked when I arrived at Seymour, and (I think you'll agree) justifiably pissed off with Vline.
These days, I drive out in a van. I usually go fully equipped, go straight to my property, and don't go the extra distance to Benalla. No point, when I can just hump fence posts and so on with me, rather than having it delivered from Benalla.
When I am in Benalla, I notice a lot of empty shops, and houses for sale. Businesses are closing there. House prices are rising by less than 2% a year (2008-2012). I imagine at least some of this has to do with transport there being terrible.
Anecdotally, of the patients I see coming in from along that line, only the unemployed take the train. It probably amplifies that usual country town youth drain - young adults leaving for cities as soon as they can.
As I was typing this, I checked the Vline disruptions page, and sure enough, it will be boned this weekend. it is still not on the timetable, but to their credit, it does come up on the journey planner now (I think this is new).
Cancellations were listed on a different page of the website to the timetables.
Cancellations were listed differently between the Seymour service and the Albury service, even though it's the same line and train, leading to additional confusion - that is, me arriving at the station one time, panniers laden with seedlings, only to discover that my train wasn't operating past Seymour.
The replacement coach drivers were not told Vline policy about bikes, and assumed carrying bikes was OK. The bus driver who took me to Benalla told me
"We always carry bikes", so I joyfully alighted the bus, bike stashed below.
The hell beast who sold me a return ticket at Benalla station (Anne Marie, I believe) insisted on following the letter of the regulations - bikes were not OK. Even if the bus driver was fine with it, even if there was plenty of space in the cargo hold. Even if the bus driver at the Melbourne end had told me "We always carry bikes". Even if it was 36.5 degrees that particular Labour Day. Even if I was prepared for agriculture and snakes (wearing Doc Martens, heavy pants), and not for a long bike ride in the midday sun. Sigh.
I had a normal day's work the next day, kicking off with a meeting at 7:30. This was with a research nurse, the neurosurgery PAC resident, a roaming neurosurgeon (a spinal guy - part of the "all Asian spinal circus") and one of my bosses (this is her only good time, while her first patient of the day is being anesthetized), so being a day late, or even a bit late, wasn't an option. Locking the bike up and returning for it next week wasn't an option I had any faith in (I had once left a cheap bike chained up at a train station, and it was nicked that same night. I wasn't about to risk a fairly good bike for a whole week).
Therefore my only option was to ride 100km of long, gently rolling hills to Seymour, in boots, work gear, and with a fully laden bike (I had a tent and stuff this time). Did i mention it was THIRTY SIX POINT FIVE degrees that day? I was pretty fucked when I arrived at Seymour, and (I think you'll agree) justifiably pissed off with Vline.
These days, I drive out in a van. I usually go fully equipped, go straight to my property, and don't go the extra distance to Benalla. No point, when I can just hump fence posts and so on with me, rather than having it delivered from Benalla.
When I am in Benalla, I notice a lot of empty shops, and houses for sale. Businesses are closing there. House prices are rising by less than 2% a year (2008-2012). I imagine at least some of this has to do with transport there being terrible.
Anecdotally, of the patients I see coming in from along that line, only the unemployed take the train. It probably amplifies that usual country town youth drain - young adults leaving for cities as soon as they can.
As I was typing this, I checked the Vline disruptions page, and sure enough, it will be boned this weekend. it is still not on the timetable, but to their credit, it does come up on the journey planner now (I think this is new).