The chairman of Victoria's Rail Freight alliance has hit back at state government claims his group is "scaremongering" and aligned to the National Party.
The RFA has again questioned progress on the trouble-plagued $440million Murray Basin Rail project.
The project was expected to standardise the rail network, resulting moving greater volumes of freight off roads, while boosting jobs and Victoria's regional economy.
RFA chairman Councillor Glenn Milne said Victorians could expect to see bigger, and more, trucks on the roads, due to the government's failure to complete the upgrade.
"The project - heralded as a game-changer by removing 20,000 truck movements from the road network and increasing Victoria's global competitive advantage - is now a complete shambles," Cr Milne said.
"The failings in this project are nothing short of catastrophic.
"The capacity of the lines has been reduced, as the increased tonnage on the line promised by the government has not been achieved, and line speeds are significantly slower."
Cr Milne said the travel time from Mildura to Melbourne had increased to 17 hours.
He said the trip from Manangatang to Geelong and on to Melbourne was now 11 hours 45 minutes, while Sea Lake to Geelong and on to Melbourne was 11 hours.
Merbein to Appleton Dock (Port of Melbourne) was 17 Hours and 25 minutes.
"What does this mean for the coming harvest from the west of Victoria?
"Not all the Sunraysia harvest will make it to export, fruit will be left on the ground, as the capacity to freight the product is now significantly reduced.
"Grain growers will pay an additional $5/ton as capacity has reduced from the rail system."
Government response
Cr Milne's claims met with a swift response from the government.
"This is just more scare-mongering from the Nationals aligned Rail Freight Alliance, who constantly talk down the benefits the Murray Basin Rail Project has already delivered," a government spokesman said.
"The combined capacity of the system is higher now than before the Murray Basin Rail Project, with suitable grain trains on the standard gauge Mildura/Yelta line now carrying 15 per cent more freight.
"We're continuing to deliver improvements to rail freight infrastructure to ensure this year's grain harvest can make its way to port quickly and efficiently."
The government has claimed significant progress has been made on delivering the project, with stage one complete and stage two largely complete.
It had seen freight trains return to the Mildura and Murrayville to Ouyen lines with standard gauge access and to the Maryborough to Ararat line, which had been reopened after 15 years.
The government had also delivered standard gauge upgrades, ith suitable trains now operating at 21 tonne axle loading.
Trains were also running at line speeds, planned in the business case.
Trains could also access the Port of Portland and were running via the interstate networks to NSW for the first time.
"Low act"
Cr Milne described the government's comments as "a pretty low act.
"They are trying to cast aspersions on the membership of the RFA to try and stop people taking any notice of us," Cr Milne said.
"There is no alignment with the National Party - the RFA is made up of 28 councils.
'We are very, very careful; we don't align ourselves with anyone
"It doesn't matter what sort of electorate you are in, Labor or Liberal, rail is important to every community."
Cr Milne said companies had estimated an additional 40,000 extra truck movements would be required to shift this year's harvest.
"That's not us, that's the major trucking companies we have spoken to," Cr Milne said.
"We have been talking to industry, and they are really concerned.
"We aren't going to say who we are talking to because they will end up getting lambasted, as we have."
Companies were telling the RFA up to 30 per cent of freight could be lost to road.
"Once you lose it, it's very hard to try and get it back," he said.
"If we had a normal cropping year, the problems would be even worse.
"Even now, if something goes wrong with rail, there is going to be a shortage of trucks and market timelines are going to be missed.
"Ships don't wait, you can hold up a train, but you can't hold up a shipper, they are gone."
With water prices climbing, farmers would want the maximum amount of money for their produce.
"If governments think there's heat on them now if farmers have to drop those crops on the ground and start missing markets, it gets really ugly."
He questioned claims trains could access Portland and that line speeds, set out in the business case, were being achieved.
"We aren't banging a political drum for anybody; it's all about facts and figures
"This is a total smokescreen - they can't discredit our facts.
"It might be time for the minister to jump on a train, sit in the cabin, and travel from Mildura to the port of Melbourne, and see for herself."
Parliamentary questions
Meanwhile, Northern Victorian Derryn Hinch's Justice Party MP Tania Maxwell has again pressed the Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan to attend a public meeting regarding the stalled Murray Basin Rail Project.
"There is a raft of questions that stakeholders and producers rightly want to ask the minister, and they deserve a hearing and the answers," Ms Maxwell said.
"Transparency in government is paramount, and the worst thing right now for anyone with a stake in this project is to continue to be met by more silence."
Ms Maxwell raised the lack of public information regarding the status of the project.
That included the discontinuation of industry advisory group meetings that were "once very regularly held in relation to this project" and not convened for many months.
Ms Maxwell said transparency in government was a fundamental democratic principle and should be backed by all in the Legislative Council.
Stakeholders currently had numerous concerns and questions about the project, including about the original business case, potential rescoping and rumours that the project might be transferred to the responsibility of the federal government.
Opposition Agriculture spokesman Peter Walsh said the government still had no timeline to finish the project.
Mr Walsh said Ms Allan had told parliament the government refused to say when - or if - the project will be completed.
He said stakeholders have lost all confidence in the minister.
"The government can't walk away now and leave this project, half done," Mr Walsh said.
"Producers and stakeholders are demanding the government finish this project, in full."
He said the minister's attempt to smear the credibility of the RFA was another desperate attempt to avoid responsibility.
"The Minister is on notice.
"She must stop ignoring the federal government's requests for more information, get the revised business case in by December, and finish the Basin Rail upgrades - in full."
The government is now required to submit a revised business case to the Commonwealth by December that outlines how the final stages will be completed.