Travellers flock to country trains

Cheaper public transport fares for country areas introduced just over a month ago have seen a surge in the number of passengers.
According to V/Line and the state government more than 1.5 million people travelled on regional public transport - buses and trains - last month after new few came into effect on March 31.
In total, they saved more than $4 million over the month.
Daily fares have been capped on regional weekday services at $9.20 (concession $4.60) and $6.70 and $3.35 respectively at weekends and on public holidays.
Passengers taking long-distance services to and from regional centres have saved as much as $40 on each one-way trip.
V/Line patronage data showed that passengers took advantage of the cheaper fares to travel to and from major events in Melbourne while tourism destinations across Victoria had also benefitted from increased patronage.
There are 2200 regional train services scheduled each week and almost 200 additional weekend services are planned to be added to the V/Line timetable from next year.