By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
PUFFING Billy CEO John Robinson says La Trobe MP Jason Wood’s push to get old suburban train carriages, known as ‘Red Rattlers’, up and running again is a great idea.
“We think it will be great add on experience for international visitors and locals,” Mr Robinson said.
The plan announced by Mr Wood on Tuesday 5 April would see the Red Rattlers carrying visitors from the Melbourne CBD to the start of the Puffing Billy tourist railway in Belgrave.
Mr Robinson said it would be a great experience for tourists to be able to experience the history of Melbourne’s railway and would tie into the Puffing Billy master plan.
“We are in the process of preparing the master plan for the next 20 years of Puffing Billy’s future,” Mr Robinson said.
“The master plan involves seeking government funding to assist key items such as a discovery centre at Emerald Lake Park and we are hoping to attract government funding for the centre at same time as the Red Rattlers.”
Puffing Billy has experienced substantial growth in last three years with patronage increase by 50 per cent to 400,000 visitors a year, including a majority of international tourists.
The discovery centre for Emerald Lake Park will include a multi-purpose building with cafes, dining and conference rooms and work as a kick-off point for visitors to take trip from Lakeside to Gembrook.
“The rail line from Lakeside to Gembrook is underutilised at the moment and we want to increase patronage to the other half,” Mr Robinson said.
“We need to create a product at Gembrook and we are looking to work with the local community to make sure when people get to Gembrook there will be activities to participate in.
“We want to work with local businesses, develop walking tracks and things like that to showcase things Gembrook already has.”
The Puffing Billy master plan will be shown and discussed in community consultation meetings and be available to be commented on via the Puffing Billy Website or comment submitted via masterplan@pbr.org.au
