Thursday, 18 August 2022

Regional rail

Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (18:25): (2079) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. As I travel through my region of Northern Victoria I like to indulge in a hobby—taking photos of abandoned and stranded rail infrastructure, railway lines and stations. Regional rail in Victoria is still crumbling despite the hundreds of millions of dollars squandered on the Murray Basin rail project. Key pieces of infrastructure are missing, and services that should be offered are lacking. This government is prepared to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on its Melbourne rail fever dream projects while regional Victorian rail rusts away.

While spending time in central Victoria last week there was a lot of talk around rail, the need for reconnecting towns and reopening stations and railway lines that have been left to rot. A meeting with the Rail Revival Alliance and also the Bendigo council highlighted a particular concern around the section of line between Eaglehawk and Inglewood. This 50-kilometre section of line was closed in May 2007, and flood damage in 2011 saw several sections of the track and bridges on the line suffer damage. Sections of the rail have been pulled up and reused elsewhere. It saddens me that this government cannot see the value of keeping and maintaining rail links to rural and regional areas. Reconnecting the line between Eaglehawk and Inglewood will provide access from Sea Lake and Manangatang to Bendigo. It will also bring passenger services to outlying areas of Bendigo, opening housing and employment opportunities for those communities, and provide freight rail services for the Bendigo regional employment precinct.

The need to dual gauge the Maryborough to Geelong line was also raised in meetings. This missing link from the regional Victoria standard gauge rail network is degrading the efficiency of rail. Dual gauging this line will dramatically shorten trip times, increase the freight transport options from the Mallee and remove thousands of trucks from our crumbling, narrow rural and regional roads.

It is time for this government to remember that Victoria extends beyond the outskirts of Melbourne and reinvest in rail in our regions. It is time to give regional constituents the same travel options our city counterparts have. Minister, the action I seek is for the government to urgently invest in regional rail, including reactivating the Eaglehawk to Inglewood railway line and dual gauging the Maryborough to Geelong line.