In February 1979, and being stationed at South Dynon Locomotive Depot, Melbourne, I was also on the Editorial staff of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen (AFULE) newsletter, ‘Central Branch News’.
The following is an article I wrote for the 28th February 1979 issue. It was written in regard to station / line closes taking place at that time.

WHAT WAS A PASSENGER TRAIN DAD???

Little Old Lady to Booking Clerk
Can I buy a ticket to travel on the 6.23pm train to Port Fairy please?

Booking Clerk
Yes, Madam, but don’t forget you have to catch a BUS from Warrnambool to Port Fairy

Little Old Lady
A what?

Booking Clerk
A Bus!

Little Old Lady
Well could you please tell me something ‘Sonny’, is this a railway station or a Bus Terminal, and are the Victorian Railways in the train or bus business?

__________________________________________________________________________

The above example is already happening and we all know that it will get worse before getting better, the facts prove this.
It is interesting to note that whilst passenger train services are being discontinued right around the state, on the weekend of 3rd & 4th February (1979) we saw VicRail holding large scale celebrations to commemorate 100 years of train
running to Horsham. The usual ‘flag waving’ and ‘banners’, plus lots of handshaking no doubt took place on Horsham platform on Sunday, 4 February after X33 had rolled in with the 9 35am down passenger train from Melbourne (Yes! There is
still the odd one around). The VR is extremely quick to jump on the publicity ‘bandwagon’ (nothing new) when this type of celebration comes around. BUT LOOK OUT!!
Hamilton celebrated its Centenary of train running in 1977 and the ‘Chopper’ fell on branch line services in that district not long after.
Deniliquin, last year (1978) was host to the same celebration, and is now in the process of loosing its Rail Motor service. So it will be very interesting to see what will happen now that the “Horsham Affair’ is over.
These cuts in passenger train service and closure of lines comes about through the recommendations made in the now infamous ‘Bland Report’, which not only recommended the loss of the Deniliquin service, but also that a further 17 lines
loose their passenger service. In conjunction with this, 8 lines were recommended for complete closure.
In a statement issued by VicRail to the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen (AFULE) on 13 September, 1978, the following facts were disclosed.
Between 6.11.76 and 1.8.78, 10 lines were closed. A further 7 lines were yet to be closed.
Between 17.12.76 and 5.6.78, 13 passenger services were replaced by BUS, and a further 2 lines would loose their passenger service to BUS on a date to be fixed.
Very alarming facts indeed, especially as far as Locomotive crews are concerned. The livelihood of every man (or woman) who works on the ‘footplate’ depends on the running of these trains and the keeping open of these lines. The VR of
course cries, ‘added expense to maintain these services and lines’. But it is a PUBLIC SERVICE – OR IS IT?

In 1979 there are:
92 country stations in Victoria with NO PASSENGER SERVICE. Goods train service only.
60 country stations in Victoria where passenger trains are NOT scheduled to STOP; and,
89 country stations in Victoria that you have to contact ‘Victour’ for the BUS connection.
Out of a total of 557 Country stations on the VicRail system, 241 of them are either NOT serviced by a passenger train or you have to catch a BUS.

FINAL REFLECTION: If this present trend continues, some-one in the not too distant future will ask you, WHAT WAS A PASSENGER TRAIN??



Editor Comment 2009:
Not a lot has changed since 1979, only that there are a lot more buses serving the travelling public and isn’t the Bus Terminal at Southern Cross a great place to start your journey?

Picture Caption: X 38 arrives at Geelong on Down Pass – Feb. 1979 (Note the Train Examiner)
D. Dedman Collection