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 your 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, which will be warmly welcomed by regional commuters.
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.
Premier 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’re 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.
“It is also a blow for Victoria's bike tourism operators. There are world-class riding experiences on offer and we need to make it easy for people to get there.”
Questions have been raised about when the government would fulfil its pledge to roll out nine-carriage trains (the current maximum is six carriages). At least seven stations between Wyndham Vale and Geelong would need to be upgraded to allow for nine carriages.
Further questions remain over where the new VLocity trains will be housed and maintained, with rail insiders warning of capacity constraints as the V/Line fleet continues to grow.
They say a solution must be found within 12 months to avoid a major backlog that would hamper the regional trains' performance.
In 2015, the government announced $115 million for a major stabling and maintenance facility in Waurn Ponds. But the facility is in limbo due to a local dispute over the land.
A government spokesman has previously described this facility as being "critical infrastructure ... to house and maintain a growing fleet of new VLocity carriages".
In the immediate term, a new facility at Wyndham Vale will be used for the new VLocity trains. But the yard will not have enough space to house all of the new trains, and the site was intended for suburban rather than regional trains.
The government was still “planning the delivery of the stabling facility at Waurn Ponds to help support the growing fleet of VLocity trains and extra services on the Geelong line,” a spokeswoman said.
The government will also upgrade the existing 75 VLocity trains.
Earlier this month, the Coalition unveiled a $19 billion regional rail plan to rebuild nearly every regional line to allow for 200km/h express services.
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