Track upgrades on a key section of Victoria's freight network means trains can now carry more freight.
Freight capacity on the Ararat to Maryborough Line has increased to 21-tonne axle loading after new rail and extra ballast was installed along the 88-kilometre section of track.
The upgrades are part of the troubled Murray Basin Rail Project which began in 2015 to repair some failing rail links across north-west Victoria.
The north-west rail network is key to the grain harvest and delivering fruit from Sunraysia to the Melbourne and Geelong ports.
On average, Victoria produces seven million tonnes of grain each year with wheat making up about half of that.
Victoria exports the third largest amount of bulk grain in Australia (11pc of national exports).
Trucks have increasingly been carrying most of this crucial harvest to ports.
The estimated cost of the Murray rail project is $706 million with $454 million from the Federal government and $249 million from the state government.
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Work began on the Ararat to Maryborough line upgrade in late April and was completed during a recent 39 day closure of the line.
More than 160km of rail line and 75,000 tonnes of ballast was installed to allow freight trains to operate with heavier loads.
The rail was delivered by 11 separate freight train trips from South Australia, replacing the equivalent of 356 truck trips for the more than 800-kilometre journey each way.
Scrap rail from the track upgrades has been donated to the Daylesford Spa Country Railway, where it will be used to replace sections of current line and assist with a planned future extension for the tourist railway.
The next stage of the long project will include extending a passing loop at Emu, building new passing loops at Tourello and Elmhurst, a mobile refuelling station at Ouyen and signalling upgrades at the Ouyen and Maryborough yards.
Design work and planning approvals are under way.
The project is designed to increase the number of weekly train trips on the Murray Basin network from 28 to 49.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said: "These vital works will help Victorian primary producers move their goods to the rest of the country and the rest of the world as easily and efficiently as possible."
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
