Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan stood in the middle of the bitumen expanse to highlight a perceived lack of interest in the rail service.

One train leaves Epsom at 8.25am for Bendigo, and another arrives at 5.29pm.

Ms Allan said to have a successful rail service, people needed a reason to make it a regular part of their lives.

"We know that if you provide the service, people will use it from the get-go," she said.

"We want people to choose to travel by rail. We need to give them that option.

"It's not a service that people are using because it doesnt meet their needs."

The $7.76 million Epsom Railway Station opened on October 11, just four months after construction began, providing the first V/Line service to the station in 40 years.

The Labor Party announced a $2 million plan last week to look into developing a Bendigo metro rail service, including regular services from Epsom, Eaglehawk and Kangaroo Flat.

Ms Allan said the rail "task force" would report back in time for 2016, when the City of Greater Bendigo planned to launch the metro network.

"We want to get cracking on the metro rail service straight away. We don't want to see more empty car parks," she said.

"This is what happened at Kangaroo Flat where there used to be only two regular trains a day for years. Now that there is a regular service, the car park is regularly full."

The party also announced it would buy 20 new V/Line carriages and 30 Metro trains if elected.

Liberal Party candidate for Bendigo East Greg Bickley said the rail services should increase when the population growth in Epsom and Huntly increases.

"You've got to build capacity over time," he said.

"Increased services worked in Kangaroo Flat because there was already an existing population.

"It's only been open a very short time. Capacity will be added over time."

Mr Bickley described the Labor Party's plan for a committee as a "another talk fest with no real action".

Source: Bendigo Advertiser