Tuesday, 3 March 2026

 Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (19:04): (1551) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure regarding this government’s reckless plan to remove the regional rail link crossovers at Sunshine station. Will the minister stop all plans to remove these crossovers so the broad-gauge freight trains from northern Victoria can continue to access the Port of Melbourne via Sunshine, rather than being rerouted via the congested Geelong–Werribee line? The Geelong line is a mixture of standard-, dual- and broad-gauge lines. As part of the Australian Rail Track Corporation corridor, passenger rail services have priority over freight services, and this change will lead to more congestion on a rapidly growing passenger line. Northern Victoria’s broad-gauge freight trains will have their travel time increased by at least 1.5 hours, increasing their train cycle times, fuel and crew costs. These crossovers provide operational flexibility, protect against service disruptions and, importantly, safeguard freight capacity moving between north-west Victoria and the Port of Melbourne.

Our region depends on rail to move grain, mineral sands and other goods efficiently and safely to the Port of Melbourne. When you increase travel times and reduce rail flexibility and resilience, you inevitably reduce confidence in the corridor, and when freight operators lose confidence in rail, they turn to trucks. This means more A-doubles and heavy vehicles travelling down the Murray Valley and Calder highways and the surrounding regional roads – roads already dangerously deteriorating due to this government’s ongoing neglect. The Allan government cannot claim to support regional Victoria while actively making decisions which shift freight off rail and onto country roads. Every additional truck means higher road maintenance costs, greater accident risk, increased emissions and more pressure on local communities who had no say in this change. This proposal looks exactly like what it is: a city-centric cost-saving exercise dressed up as network reform, with regional communities paying the price again.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Wendouree, I just say to the member for Murray Plains that your question, I think, was asked more as a constituency question. Are you able to clarify the action that you are requiring from the minister?

Peter WALSH: The action is to stop all plans to remove the crossovers on the broad-gauge freight system. I said that in the second sentence.