V/Line is about to begin work on the reopening of the Rainbow to Dimboola rail line.
The project is expected to be finished by early next month.
"A team of more than 20 V/Line workers will be on-site for several weeks to complete maintenance work and restore track conditions on the line, with a view to rail freight operations recommencing soon after," a V/Line spokesman said.
Once the maintenance works are completed, a final review and safety inspection of the track will be completed, before operational freight services can return.
In July 2019 V/Line completed a detailed assessment of the track condition.
At the time, V/Line told freight operators trains would be unable to use the line, due to safety concerns.
In 2011, the coalition government announced it was spending $6.3 million on upgrading the 66km section of the Dimboola to Rainbow rail line.
It was "booked out", or closed, due to track deterioration, last year.
Graincorp's CropConnect Product Manager Peter Johnston said 150,000 tonnes of grain was currently stored at the company's Rainbow and Jeparit silos, awaiting the reopening of the line.
That grain was destined for Werris Creek and Moree, NSW, and locomotives had been booked to haul it.
"We are confident of delivering it, given the fact we hope to see the line open in early April, which is the undertaking that has been given to us," Mr Johnston said.
The Rainbow to Dimboola line was of importance to farmers and grain forwarders, as it connected to the Australian Rail Track Corporation's network between Melbourne and Adelaide.
"It's about making sure rail works, so we can optimise our rail assets, to provide the lowest cost to farmers."
Grain from the Wimmera receival sites would also be destined for export markets, meaning rail was the best way of shipping it to port, reducing congestion in Geelong and Melbourne.
The line could be in continuous use from December to June, with up to two 2200 tonne trains a week.
Mr Johnston said Graincorp hoped that by September, the line would be brought back to a 19-tonne axle loading (TAL), allowing for speeds of up to 40kilometres and hour.
"We would always want more because the next step up is to 21 TAL."
Graincorp had made significant investments in upgrading its Rainbow receival facilities.
"Between the line and the rail loading facility, Graincorp spent more than $4 million on that site."
Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said the state of the line highlighted the need for certainty, on standards rural residents expected on road, rail, energy supplies, schooling and health.
He said this year's VFF State budget submission called on the government to do long term planning, to ensure rural and regional residents could enjoy the same standard, as people living in metropolitan areas.
"A lot of that is about sustaining, or building, on the current funding we have and not letting it slip any further," Mr Jochinke said.
"Graincorp put a lot of money into that line, there has been a private contribution to a public asset, and there is an obligation to keep it up to an operational standard."
He said the government must commit to longer timeframes for infrastructure funding in rural and regional Victoria.
"We are having to have these conversations when things are falling apart; we do not see that long-term commitment to this infrastructure.
"That's our challenge, we need to change the conversation, and we need to make sure we don't look at these things, as a one-off fix.
'We can afford all these major projects in other parts of the state; we want to make sure we get our share, in regional areas."
Rail Freight Working Group representative, Hindmarsh shire mayor Councillor Rob Gersch said he just wanted the line reopened.
"We have estimated not having the line open means an additional 6000 plus B-doubles, on the road," Cr Gersch said.
"Let's get this thing going, even if it's slow."
It made sense to put money into the rail line, which ran parallel to the road, most of the way from Rainbow to Dimboola.
"The road is not in a great state," Cr Gersch said.
'There is a very high danger of accidents happening because of it's got to the stage, in some places, it's not even a two-lane highway," he said.
'You have to get off the road, into the shoulder, and once you do that, there is further damage."
Tarranyurk mixed farmer Marshall Rodda said it was no good simply patching up the line.
"They did a bandaid, patch up job on it, it lasted hardly any time at all."
But he said he felt it was a hard call, as to whether to fund rail or road, infrastructure.
"It's a hard question, in a lean year it will make no difference, grain will all go by road," Mr Rodda said.
'But in a bulk year, it will make some difference."
Once grain went into on-farm storages, it would almost always go to market by road, straight to the end-user.
"The line may not be used to full capacity, but it's like having a spare tyre on your car.
"You know you need one, but you hope not to use it."
Rail Freight Alliance (RFA) chief executive Reid Mather welcomed the support for the reopening of the line by Ports and Freight Minister Melissa Horne.
Mr Mather said Ms Horne acted quickly to rectify the situation, once she was made aware of the issue, and removed the uncertainty many producers and grain accumulators faced.
"Rail maintenance is vital to ensure Victoria has the safest, most environmentally and cost-effective mode of transport available to utilise freight movements both intrastate and interstate," Mr Mather said.
"It is vital that business that invests in rail are provided certainty in their investments."
At its recent conference, the Victorian Farmers Federation Grains Group also demanded the Victorian government allocate the funds required to complete the Murray Basin Rail Project, to ensure a standardised rail network with 80 kilometre an hour speeds and 21TAL as promised.
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Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
