Labor pledges to boost regional rail and attacks Liberal costings

Regional and outer suburban commuters would get an extra 550 weekly V/Line train trips if Labor is re-elected, as the party costs Jess Wilson's commitment to reduce the public service to claim she cannot reach her promised cash surplus.Premier Ben Carroll will today commit $420 million to increase the regional train network by 24 per cent, targeting voters in regional and outer-fringe seats where Labor is under pressure from both the Coalition and One Nation.Transport in the outer-west and south-west has been especially painful for the government. Melton and Wyndham Vale still rely on V/Line, two elections after Daniel Andrews promised to electrify the tracks.Under Labor's announcement today, Melton would get an extra 162 weekly trips from 2027 so that services run every 20 minutes. Longer nine-car trains previously announced will also run from next year.The plan to increase regional rail services has been costed by Labor at $420 million. (ABC News: Ethan Seiderman)Wyndham Vale would get a dedicated new service with 249 weekly trips, to minimise crowding.Geelong would get more express services as a result, cutting 10 minutes from the journey with double the number of total services. An extra two services would also run on Sundays to Geelong and Waurn Ponds.Government attacks Liberal surplus claimLabor has separately turned to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) in an attempt to undercut the opposition leader's commitment to reach a cash surplus by 2032, a key plank of Ms Wilson's election platform.Ms Wilson has largely relied on her announcement that she would reduce the Victorian Public Service through attrition to save $22 billion over a decade to reach the cash surplus.But analysis by the PBO, requested by Labor, found the majority of the savings would not be realised until after 2032. The budget office estimated the Coalition policy would save $8.5 billion by 2032, billions short of what would be necessary.Treasurer Colin Brooks used the findings to claim Ms Wilson would need to cut essential services, in particular health, to meet their commitment.Labor is challenging Liberal leader Jess Wilson's pledge to reach a budget surplus. (ABC News Melbourne)In a statement, Ms Wilson said she would not take lectures on costings from Labor."Only our Liberal and Nationals team has a costed and credible plan to repair the budget, underpinned by more than $26 billion in responsible and disciplined savings," she said.Ms Wilson has not released the full copy of her version of the PBO's analysis, and has been under pressure to explain how she can scrap taxes, make a suite of spending commitments while also bringing down debt — on track to reach almost $200 billion by 2029-2030.PBO analysis can vary depending on the assumptions put to them.More express trains from regional centresUnder Labor's transport announcement, the Seymour line to the outer-north through Wallan and Donnybrook would get an extra 29 services from 2028.Another 101 weekly services would also run through the Bendigo line from 2028; 21 to Bendigo and 80 to Kyneton, allowing most off-peak trains to run express from Bendigo.The Warrnambool line would also get an extra eight weekend services from next year, while the Traralgon line would wait until 2028 for an additional Sunday service.V/Line services have been plagued by overcrowding as demand increases. (Supplied: Kate Young)Most weekday off-peak trains from Ballarat would also run express to Melbourne from next year, shaving up to 10 minutes off the journey, Labor said.The Coalition has previously promised $1.7 billion to run hybrid trains to Melton and Wyndham Vale, though the government disputed this was feasible with the rest of the network.After delaying electrification, the government now says the new Sunshine station hub must be built first to separate the V/Line and Metro tracks.