Regional train commute numbers hit record high, but state government has no plans for parking relief in Geelong

Demand for car parks at the Geelong railway station has resulted in vehicles parking illegally outside designated spots and causing congestion.

Carparking at the Geelong Railway Station has resulted in a crammed car park, with people parking outside designated areas. Picture: Supplied

Demand for car parks at the Geelong railway station has resulted in vehicles parking illegally outside designated spots and causing congestion, alarming images show.

A poll by the Geelong Advertiser has revealed that 93 per cent of people want more parking at the station after the state government revealed it had no plans to increase capacity.

One user of the carpark described trying to get a spot as “survival of the fittest”.

On Tuesday, the state government announced it had seen a record number of people using V/Line as a result of the regional fare cap but had no plans to create more car spaces at the station.

One car park user said there “desperately needs to be more parking at Geelong station” but asked how you could create more spaces and keep them free of charge.

Another local said Geelong station car parks were taken up by local tradies and other local workers rather than commuters and said the carpark needed to be reserved for commuters only.

Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams said the state government had significant commitments across the state to deliver more carparks, but didn’t reveal any plans to introduce more spaces at the Geelong station.

“At this stage we’ve got quite a significant pipeline of car park delivery, there is always more to do, I want to emphasise that we’re never quite there.

“We have got significant growth, we have significant demand, and we’re looking to meet that in every way that we can, whether that be operating more services or in some cases, carparks.”

A Victorian Government spokesperson said upgrades to the Geelong line have already delivered 90 new parking spaces and sealed 120 existing gravel carparking spaces at Waurn Ponds station, with more than 200 new car parks to come as part of current station upgrade works.

Public Transport minister Gabrielle Williams during a visit to Geelong train station. Picture: Alison Wynd

Earlier: No station parking relief despite record surge in train commuters

More people than ever before are using V/Lines trains after fares were slashed last year, but there are no plans to introduce more parking at Geelong’s station despite daily chaos.

On Tuesday, Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams was in Geelong to announce Victorians had saved $50m on train fares since the introduction of the regional fare cap one year ago.

The fare cap, which was introduced 12 months ago, allows regional commuters to pay a maximum of $10.60, whereas before the cap was introduced, a return ticket to Geelong would cost $27.60.

Last month V/Line had its busiest month on record with 2.16 million passengers travelling.

Ms Williams attributed the number to the success of the regional fare cap.

V/Line Matt Carrick said it was the busiest December, January, February and March on record.

“What we are seeing is a whole new lot of people on regional public transport that weren’t travelling before,” he said.

“We’re responding to the demand, we have put on more services, we have had over a thousand special services in the last 12 months alone, and we’ll continue to build up more services and more trains.”

The increasing number of people catching the trains into Melbourne from Geelong has also resulted in commuter carparking chaos, with the Geelong station carpark full by 8am.

Ms Williams said the state government had “quite a significant pipeline of carpark delivery” but didn’t say there were any plans for any new commuter car parks in Geelong.

“There’s always more to do, we have significant growth, we’ve got significant demand and we’re looking to meet that in every way that we can, whether that be through operating more services or in the same cases carparks,” she said.

South Geelong railway station redevelopment works. Picture: Alan Barber

Meanwhile the construction upgrades are continuing at South Geelong railway station and Ms Williams said works were “progressing really well”.

South Geelong railway station redevelopment works. Picture: Alan Barber

The upgrades include a new station building, a new second platform and track and a reconfigured station carpark.

It’s hoped major construction will be complete by late 2024.

Originally published as Regional train commute numbers hit record high, but state government has no plans for parking relief in Geelong