$10 return train tickets to the Royal Melbourne Show

This year’s Royal Melbourne Show is not to be missed!

Be part of the celebrations as the new look Showgrounds is unveiled to the public.

Providing the ultimate school holiday entertainment, the show has something for everyone! Rides, baked potatoes and candyfloss compete with contests featuring everything from Jersey-Holstein cows to wood-choppers.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketek - www.ticketek.com.au or 13 28 49.

21st September - 1st October 2006
9:30am – 10:00pm daily
(Sunday 1 October 9:30am – 8:30pm)

The state government is offering $10 fares for V/Line services to help country families attend the Melbourne Show but Bill Sykes has called for permanent changes to make rail travel more affordable.

Dr Sykes said the $10 fares for the Melbourne Show were a direct result of The Nationals lobbying the Bracks Government in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.

“The Bracks Government only introduced the $10 fares for the Games after The Nationals demanded a fair deal for country Victorians,” Dr Sykes said.

“The decision to offer $10 fares from September 21 until October 1 for anyone who purchases Melbourne Show tickets is a step in the right direction but it doesn’t go far enough.

“There needs to be a permanent reduction in V/Line fare prices to make it more affordable for country families to use public transport in the future.”

Dr Sykes has repeated The Nationals calls for half-price V/Line fares to become a permanent fixture in a bid to increase regional tourism and make transport more affordable for country families.

“The current cost of approximately $100 (depending on concessions) makes it unrealistic for a family to pay a full return fare to travel from North East Victoria to Melbourne,” Dr Sykes said.

“Halving the price of full fare travel would encourage more city people to travel to regional Victoria with an obvious benefit to our tourism-related industries.

“At the same time, making it more affordable for country people to access the city would help to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on our roads.

“The government has just spent about $1 billion on regional rail projects, surely it makes sense to fill the trains rather than run half-empty carriages throughout the state.

“Making public transport more affordable in country Victoria with half-price fares would cost less than $30 million per year.

“Country people are already subsidising the metropolitan public transport system and it seems only fair that they get an opportunity to use the services that are available in regional Victoria at a more reasonable price.”