Labor candidate for South West Coast Kylie Gaston joins call to V/Line

Kylie Gaston said she had written to the state's transport minister Ben Carroll, urging him to reconsider the design of the incoming VLocity trains.

V/Line last month confirmed cafeteria facilitates weren't included in the current design of the new broad gauge trains.

The transport service said the bespoke feature would result in more services being replaced by coaches as Warrnambool trains would need to run on other high patronage, broad gauge commuter lines like Ballarat.

V/Line modelling also showed 42 seats would need to be removed from a three-carriage train to install a snack car.

But Ms Gaston said regional travellers "absolutely deserve catering services" during the three-and-a-half journey from Melbourne to Warrnambool, and up to seven hours for those continuing on to Hamilton, Casterton, Portland and Mount Gambier via bus.

There are no refreshment facilities at Warrnambool station and the closest fast food restaurant is located about a kilometre away.

"We need to voice the fact that regional and rural Victorians often miss out and there is a significant journey for regional passengers to take on the train," Ms Gaston said.

"Catering is something we should be able to expect at a minimum."

It comes after Western Victoria MP Stuart Grimley expressed similar concerns in a letter to the transport minister on August 23.

The Standard contacted Mr Carroll's office on Friday asking if/how the minister had responded.

It was acknowledged the government had received a letter from Mr Grimley.

A spokeswoman told The Standard V/Line would work with the community to investigate alternative refreshment options for passengers.

It comes after independent transport think tank the Rail Futures Institute said on Wednesday V/Line would fail to meet basic human needs if it canned the catering facilities.

Warrnambool line passengers have been waiting for the replacement of the line's current ageing fleet since mid-2017 when the high-speed VLocity trains were announced.

Alongside the loss of snack cars, The Standard has reported the new trains would also have fewer seats than the current fleet and won't run at maximum speed.

But the design will include accessible toilets, storage space for luggage and bikes, power points and six mobility aid spaces per three-carriage trains.

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