The Victorian Government has committed to what it calls the biggest upgrade to regional rail freight in decades, the full Murray Basin Rail Project, which will standardise and upgrade the entire Murray Basin rail network.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced the government’s backing for the $416 million Murray Basin Rail Project, which is said to boost the safety, capacity and reliability of freight services in Northern Victoria and better connect primary producers to the state’s major ports.
Under the plan, lines from Geelong to Mildura, Manangatang, Sea Lake and Murrayville will be standardised, and the existing unused standard gauge connection between Maryborough and Ararat will be reopened.
This is hoped to fix the missing links in the freight network and connect regional Victoria to the ports of Portland, Geelong and Melbourne, as well as improving freight connections to southern New South Wales and South Australia.
“Axle loading on Murray Basin freight lines will be increased to 21 tonnes, allowing larger trains to carry more product with each trip,” Premier Andrews said. “By enabling more freight to be moved by rail, the project will increase the efficiency of the freight network, remove around 20,000 truck trips to the ports each year and keep our export industries competitive.”
Major works are expected to commence in the second half of 2016 and 270 jobs are expected to be created during construction.
ARA applauds green light for Murray Basin Rail Project
The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has commended the Victorian Government’s announcement to go ahead with the Murray Basin Rail Project, a $416 million package of railway gauge standardisation and upgrading works in north-western Victoria.
Acting chief operating officer of the ARA Phil Allan said: “This project, once completed, will fully connect one of Australia’s major economic areas into the national rail and logistics networks. It will allow greater efficiency and higher loadings for existing intermodal and grain trains and attract new traffic to rail.
“The Murray Basin is a highly productive area for a range of commodities, including grain, mineral sands, food and wine. The best way to move these commodities to market is by rail and the Murray Basin Rail Project, when completed, will allow growers and producers to send their products by rail to a broader range of Victorian and interstate ports,” said Mr Allan.
