The State Government has rejected opposition claims work on the Murray Basin Rail project has been derailed.
The opposition claimed Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan had been caught out in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) hearing and forced to admit the upgrade had ground to a halt.
Nationals Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien said Ms Allan had confessed to secretly shelving plans for the next stage of the project.
But Ms Allan said she was being misrepresented by the National Party, as work on the project had not stopped.
“V/Line is working closely with industry and freight operators to minimise the impacts and maximise the benefits of the completion of the project,” Ms Allan said.
“Industry has told us they want the Murray Basin Rail project delivery to align with the works on the Ballarat Line Upgrade, to ensure continued access to the Geelong and Melbourne ports.
“Our priority is to keep trains running so our farmers and freight operators aren’t disadvantaged, while we continue to deliver the remainder of this important project.”
The opposition claimed the government had prioritised Ballarat passenger upgrades ahead of completing the next stages of the Basin Rail project.
Opposition Regional Victoria and Decentralisation spokesman Peter Walsh said Ms Allan had said the scope of the project had changed.
Work on the Manangatang and Sea Lake lines had not started.
Mr Walsh said the government was quietly notifying stakeholders that the Manangatang and Sea Lake upgrade plans would be paused – indefinitely – without explanation.
“The Premier for Melbourne is stopping critical freight rail upgrades in favour of Ballarat line passenger services – this city-centric Labor Government just doesn’t get it,” Mr Walsh said.
“Industry and stakeholders had planned for this work to begin in March, but instead they’re hearing, three months later, the work won’t go ahead.
“It’s clear Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan have no plans to make sure the MBRP is delivered on-time and by the end of the year.”
Mildura Nationals MP Peter Crisp said the project was designed to deliver critical upgrades to the freight rail network and open north-west Victoria to the state’s ports and the rest of the world.
“Freight industry and our communities that rely on agriculture and mineral sands to support their regional economies deserve an explanation,” Mr Crisp said.
Work on stage two of the Murray Basin Rail Project had largely been completed, with trains now running on the Mildura to Melbourne line.
Crews were working to finalise and bed in the track.
V/Line had also assigned resources to complete the final level crossing works on the recently-reopened Ararat-Maryborough line.
That had resulted in delays on the Murrayville to Ouyen line works, but would ultimately provide an improved connection for trains from Murrayville
That was one of the project’s main objectives.
The government said work on the Murrayville line would resume shortly.
V/Line was reconsidering future staging options for the remainder of the Murray Basin Rail Project, following feedback from freight industry and key stakeholders.
Construction on both the Murray Basin Rail Project and the Ballarat Line Upgrade needed to be coordinated, to manage the impact of freight and passenger movements.
