This demonstrates there is demand for rail services if it's superior to driving. In this case with cost.
Hopefully the long term response to this will be more services and maybe even restoration of old lines that have fallen out of use in the past 100 years. There used to be rail services going to most towns in the state. It'd be so great to see some of those come back.
Even the Pedestrian/Bike/Horse rail trails are being blocked by residents who don’t want strangers near their property.
Even in areas with a large Horse-enthusiast population.
Even where under-utilised sporting fields are accessible from the old alignment.
Other existing rail trails are being sabotaged by locals, much to the detriment of local businesses such as cafes, micro-breweries and distilleries.
@cuavas@Jumuta to be honest I'm a little surprised they didn't make the fare cap for off-peak travel only, which would have actually helped to reduce some of the crazy peak crush.
@AllNewTypeFace@just_kitten I think this is really only happening on the Albury line - other services have likely seen a decent increase in patronage, but it's likely going to make rural services more viable in terms of numbers, and on the really popular routes hopefully a real increase in services. In 2019 I took rural PT to a bunch of different places in Victoria, East West and North from Melbourne, and only North was really even half way busy.
You must be joking. Passenger volumes on the Ballarat line just keep increasing as they build more dormitory suburbs along the corridor. Morning peak trains are routinely at crush capacity before reaching Melton, making it very difficult to actually catch a train to work in Melbourne from Melton.