Public Transport in the 2026 Victorian State Budget: Part 2 - The budget

"A drought-breaking budget for metropolitan rail services"The 2026 Victorian State Budget will be tabled in Parliament (and become public) early this afternoon. I gave the broader context for it in Part 1. Also see my write-ups on previous budgets here: 2025, 2024, 2023 You will find the budget (when it is tabled) here: https://www.budget.vic.gov.auWhat we know so farThere have been several pre-budget announcements in the last fortnight. Those significant for public transport include:* $44m for 50 more station PSOs and what they call an 'intelligence-led deployment model', that is more PSO hours at busy stations and the replacement of PSOs at quiet stations with roving PSOs.* $432m for April's free travel continued into May with half-price fares for the rest of year. * More frequent evening and weekend trains for the Clifton Hill and Burnley groups (with more on the service uplifts here and here)* An order for 25 X'Trapolis trains to replace the Comeng fleet* 9 car trains to Wyndham…