Moyne mayor Ian Smith said he had written to Victorian Transport Minister Ben Carroll to describe the problems many people would face if the services were scrapped.

"The coach connection to the early train that departs Warrnambool leaves Yambuk just after 5am and Port Fairy at 5.20am," Cr Smith said. "At that hour of the morning there are no places open to get something to eat or a hot drink, people using these coach connections often rely on the café on the train."

Cr Smith said the same issue arose for patrons returning on late services, who were generally unable to access any food or drink after leaving Melbourne.

His comments follow statements from Member for Western Victoria Stuart Grimley, South West Coast Labor candidate Kylie Gaston, and think tank the Rail Futures Institute, all calling for catering services to be retained.

RFI president John Hearsch said the decision was a matter of "meeting basic human needs and not subjecting passengers to conditions which could have health implications", pointing out some patrons continued on as far as Mount Gambier, a seven-hour trip.

The Standard contacted Mr Carroll's office last Friday and a spokeswoman said V/Line would work with the community to investigate alternative refreshment options for passengers.

Cr Smith said if the cafe option wasn't possible, the government had to consider a "trolley-type" service as a bare minimum.

"You see that on trains in the United Kingdom and of course on airlines - it could be an alternative that won't require the loss of seats and would mean trains could be used on other lines across the state," he said.

"We are calling on the state government to improve public transport services across our region, not lessen them."

In contrast to Moyne, Warrnambool City Council wasn't too worried about train food services and hadn't contacted the state government over the issue.

Mayor Vicki Jellie said the possibility of losing food services would affect "some passengers, particularly those travelling considerable distances", but it wasn't at the top of council's advocacy agenda with V/Line.

"Council views the introduction of accessible carriages and modifications to train stations to improve accessibility as a priority," Cr Jellie said. "While many passengers can pack food for a train journey, a passenger in a wheelchair must have an accessible carriage to use the service."

Cr Jellie backed the food trolley option, or a food van at major stations like Warrnambool, but said the focus should be on ensuring passengers with accessibility issues weren't left behind.

"The recent experience of Merrilyn Reid, who was unable to use a replacement V/Line coach, highlighted the ongoing issues created by an inaccessible service," she said.

Cr Smith said his letter to Minister Carroll was part of a suite of advocacy initiatives Moyne Shire was pursuing ahead of the state election. Councillors and staff will be meeting with state members and candidates over the next few weeks to hammer home the council's "key priorities" for funding and resources.

"Council is using every opportunity it has to make sure both the government and the opposition are aware of our priorities ahead of the election," he said. "We are also visiting Parliament House as part of the South West Victoria Alliance this week talking about our regional priorities."

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