omadvertiser.com.au
ADVERTISER, Friday, August 25, 2023 - Page 1
r
u l Yo oca LY ire K Sh L EEdigo
n
WrI Fo
BEECHWORTH - CHILTERN - RUTHERGLEN - STANLEY - YACKANDANDAH Friday, August 25, 2023
Phone (03) 5723 0100
www.omadvertiser.com.au
$2.00 (inc.GST)
INSIDE
Community grants open Page 4
Local distiller wins gold Page 6
TALKING IT UP: St Anne’s Catholic School student Ethan Wilson (left), Wodonga Primary School student Lucy Cole, St Anne’s Catholic School student Oakley Elliott and Beechworth’s St Joseph’s Primary School student Cleaver Green competed in the recent Lions district regional public speaking competition held in Beechworth. Story page 3. PHOTO: Coral Cooksley
Train travel relief
Indigo Interview Page 9
Reservation-onlyy booking g system y to be trialed on weekend trains from September p 2 By STEVE KELLY A SEATING crisis on V/ Line trains since cheaper fares were introduced five months ago will ease with all Albury line weekend train travel to be trialed under a reservation-only booking system. Problems arose when
ticket prices were slashed by about $40 return or the equivalent of a daily metro fare ticket, but the shortfall with the plan was that only two of six carriages on the Albury line offered reserved seating. A large volume of people who didn’t reserve a seat have been forced to stand
for all or some of an up to 4-hour long journey, with some choosing to sit on the floor. Extra train services on a Saturday morning from Albury and another on Sunday afternoon from Southern Cross was trialled during July and August to address the demand, but
overcrowding still exists. The State Government will trial weekend reserved seating from Saturday, September 2 until late November following feedback from a recent survey of weekend passengers. It found that more than 70 per cent supported a move to
reservation-only seating on the busy Albury line trains. Under the trial, if all seats are booked on a service, passengers would then have the option of purchasing an unreserved ticket, which alerts them that they may have to stand for some or all of their journey. ■ Continued page 2
Bushies’ finals fever Sport
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
:DQJDUDWWD 0XUSK\ 6WUHHW :RGRQJD +LJK 6WUHHW
KHOHQKDLQHV RUJ #KHOHQKDLQHVLQGL KHOHQ KDLQHV PS#DSK JRY DX
$'9(57,6(0(17 $XWKRULVHG E\ +HOHQ +DLQHV 0XUSK\ 6W :DQJDUDWWD 9Ζ&