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Labor must explain regional rail shutdown that left Gippslanders stranded without any backup plan or confidenceThe Opposition says the statewide V/Line shutdown exposed the regional rail network's lack of contingency planning, leaving passengers stranded and renewing calls for greater infrastructure investment and reliability across regional Victoria. By news@gippsland - 8th July 2026 - Back to News The Allan Labor Government must explain why regional Victorians have once again been left stranded, frustrated and forgotten after Wednesday's total shutdown of the V/Line network. The chaos was further proof that regional communities were treated as an afterthought by the Allan Labor Government. Every regional train line, including Bendigo, Seymour, Gippsland, Geelong and Ballarat, was suspended on Wednesday, leaving commuters stuck at stations with no trains and only a handful of replacement coaches able to run. 
The Opposition says the Telstra outage exposed inadequate contingency planning, questioning why regional rail lacks backup systems to keep services operating during infrastructure failures Regional rail failurePassengers heading to work, job interviews and family commitments were forced to either wait indefinitely or find their own way to Melbourne. While the disruption was triggered by a nationwide Telstra outage, it exposed the fragility of a regional rail network that Labor has neglected. And still there is no explanation from Labor why there are no contingency measures in place to prevent regional Victoria being cut off entirely when infrastructure fails. It beggars belief that our entire regional train network can be shut down because of a mobile outage. Where is the back up plan? Why doesn't the government have contingencies in place for these sorts of outages? Regional Victorians deserve better than being an afterthought. They deserve a government, and a rail network, that actually turns up. Transport confidence collapsedOn Wednesday it was a Telstra outage, next month it will be something else again. Regional Victorians have simply lost confidence that they can rely on this network to get them to work, to school or to hospital. This is exactly why The Nationals and Liberals are committed to a Fair Share Guarantee, locking in at least 25 per cent of the state's infrastructure spending for regional Victoria. Country Victorians pay their taxes just like everyone else, and they deserve transport infrastructure that is reliable, resilient and properly funded, not whatever is left over once Melbourne's bloated and corrupt projects are paid for. Pictures from V/Line Facebook page.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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