The Parliamentary Budget Office has released new costings on a potential fix for Murray Basin Rail

The government abandoned plans to complete the full standardisation of the north-west Victorian rail network in 2019, claiming it would cost a further $1 billion to finish. The MBRP was first announced in 2015, at a cost of $440 million.

In a recent report, the PBO recommended converting the track between Maryborough and Ballarat North Junction, then to Gheringhap, north of Geelong, from broad to standard gauge track.

"The total estimated investment (TEI) reflects the amount of expenditure needed to undertake the asset works, but excludes the associated operating, maintenance expenses and finance lease costs," the PBO found.

That was broken down into:

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The PBO report has been welcomed by Ouyen Inc, which is pushing for a new Sunraysia Mallee Port Link intermodal hub in the town to ensure more freight was transferred from road to rail.

Ouyen Inc spokesman Scott Anderson said the PBO's answer to fixing the critical Ballarat rail corridor was "an absolute game changer".

"When you consider it is half the cost of removing one rail crossing in Melbourne, the difference it would make city and country areas would outweigh that," he said

"It's half the cost and a better spend, for the dollar."

He said the PBO report, commissioned by Mildura Independent MP Ali Cupper, answered all the reasons why the government would not complete the Murray Basin Rail Project to its original design.

The PBO found Public Transport Victoria's (PTV) preference was to have the Gheringhap to Ballarat section dual gauged, to allow metro broad gauge passenger trains to be taken to Ballarat for maintenance

But Mr Anderson said Ouyen Inc believed there was ample capacity on the existing broad gauge Bacchus Marsh line to do that.

"There's up to 800,000 tonnes in containerised freight, leaving the district at the moment, 90 per cent of it on trucks," Mr Anderson said.

The plan would also alleviate the need for freight trains on the standard gauge system from the north-west to travel an extra 128 kilometres from Maryborough to Ararat, to gain access to Geelong.

"It has made things as inefficient as say, detouring all vehicles between Bendigo and Melbourne to travel via Shepparton," Mr Anderson said.

"Having two rail gauges requires two lots of equipment, making rail expensive and road transport a more viable option - 99 million truck kilometres will be required over the next four years due to the Murray Basin Rail project not being completed in full and on time."

Mr Anderson said companies exporting from the north-west were looking closely at carbon emissions.

"A couple of the companies we are dealing with have become very conscious of their carbon footprint, because that is what the European market they sell into is focussing on," he said.

Cargill Corporate Affairs director Peter McBride said with the shelving of the original MBRP to standardising the whole rail network, the company maintained rail infrastructure between Maryborough to Ballarat should be upgraded to dual gauge.

Cargill runs the Birchip Grainflow site, a significant grain accumulation and train loading facility.

"This would allow us to operate more efficiently and run trains 24 / 7 when required," Mr McBride said.

"Cargill is currently discussing this proposal with a range of stakeholders and the government plus other rail infrastructure projects which will improve the movement of grain to port."

GrainCorp declined to comment.

The state government has been contacted for comment.