My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public Transport, and it is in relation to the Marshall railway station, which is located south of Geelong. It is the last train station from Melbourne for services that do not continue through the south-west to Warrnambool via Colac. Each week 138 services stop at the Marshall station, with more than 1000 people using these services weekly. Each weekday morning, without fail, the station’s car park is filled to capacity, and cars are parked outside homes on Marshalltown Road and Station Road in Marshall.
On the platform there is a small bus stop-type shelter, which is totally inadequate in offering any shelter from the rain. The only other cover provided is under the ticketing office, which provides shelter for only a handful of people when it rains.
Commuters using other major stations such as South Geelong railway station, the Geelong railway station on Railway Terrace and the Lara railway station have the benefit of indoor seating areas and all-weather shelters in the event of poor weather. I welcome the increased patronage at the Marshall railway station, a station funded and built by the previous Labor government. At the time it was ridiculed by then Liberal opposition members who stated that the station would attract poor patronage. With increased patronage, infrastructure and facilities must now be provided for the comfort and safety of public transport users. I call on the minister to act to ensure that funding for the construction of an appropriate all-weather shelter for the Marshall railway station is included in the 2012-13 budget.