page_title: Regional Network Development Plan
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Regional Network Development Plan / Background
caption_attribution_description: V/Line VLocity train at Lara Victoria Australia
context_page_description: The Regional Network Development Plan is a long-term plan for the provision of bus and train services to the regional areas of the state of Victoria, Australia. Produced four years after the Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail, which examined in detail the future expansion of the metropolitan Melbourne rail network, the RNDP was produced by the state government's Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources and sets forth short-, medium- and long-term priorities for the 5, 10 and 15 years after 2016 respectively.
  The RNDP was widely criticised for its lack of concrete planning by regional commentators. Many of the plan's short-term proposals were funded in the 2016–17 Victorian Budget, and further regional public transport upgrades continued with the announcement of the Regional Rail Revival program in 2017.
context_section_description: Public Transport Victoria (PTV), a new statutory body replacing the former Director of Public Transport and Metlink as the coordinating authority of Victoria's public transport, was formed in December 2011 with the aim of improving services by better planning and stronger intermodal organisation. In March 2013, PTV released the NDPMR in partial fulfilment of these objectives, saying that it would be followed by similar plans for other modes of public transport by the end of that year. However, a report by the Victorian Auditor-General released in August 2014 found that the preparation of plans for "on-road public transport" (including the tram network and bus network) and regional services was "progressing slowly".
  Meanwhile, patronage on V/Line rail services had doubled in the previous decade, in part due to population growth and the increasing costs of car travel, but also as a result of the introduction of new VLocity trains which had substantially improved the comfort and reliability of commuter journeys to and from Melbourne. This unprecedented growth in demand for regional public transport resulted in capacity constraints becoming apparent on much of the V/Line network, limiting the provision of new services.
  After public transport became a major issue at the 2014 Victorian election, the new Labor government led by Premier Daniel Andrews announced the commencement of public consultation for a Regional Network Development Plan in May 2015.
caption: The introduction of VLocity trains had a substantial impact on regional public transport in the early 2000s.
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