CHANGES to the region’s V/Line booking system could be made to address reserved seating shortages on the Albury line’s busiest services, prompted by major safety concerns in the North East.

Following Benambra MP Bill Tilley’s recent address to parliament, in which he labelled the move to continue to sell tickets with no appreciation of whether the train was already full as “a poor imitation of a joke”, a V/Line spokesperson confirmed the service was “exploring all options”.

Ovens Valley MP Tim McCurdy had previously expressed his concerns, amid reports overcrowded carriages were seeing travelers forced to sit on the floor for much of the journey to and from Melbourne.

More than 36,000 people have used the Albury line service since the Victorian Government’s fare cap was introduced at the end of March, with a six-carriage VLocity train able to seat 296 people, while off-peak, three-carriage services can seat 148 passengers.

“The regional fare cap is proving to be extremely popular with Albury line passengers who are benefiting from significant savings,” the V/Line spokesperson said.

“We are supporting the busiest Albury line services with standby coaches and we continue to closely monitor patronage levels on the line.

“Given the popularity of Albury line services, we are exploring all options to support increased passenger numbers, including reviewing our bookings and reservations policies.”

The V/Line spokesperson noted while the service was exploring additional online ticketing options for advance bookings, it continued to balance the travel needs of passengers who choose to turn up and travel on the day.

The Department of Transport and Planning is said to be working with V/Line to monitor and review fleet requirements across the network.