Labor’s electrification pledge would put Gawler train line back on track a year earlier than planned

ELECTRIFICATION of the Gawler train line could begin this year, Labor will announce on Friday.

An artist’s impression of Gawler Station with electrified train.

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• Federal Government pulls plug on $76m Gawler line electrification

ELECTRIFICATION of the Gawler train line could begin this year, Labor will announce on Friday.

If elected into Government, Federal opposition transport spokesman Anthony Albanese says Labor would reverse the shock $76 million cut to the project, ensuring it can start a year earlier than planned.

The ancient diesel trains would be scrapped in favour of cleaner, quieter electric cars with more capacity for the 10,000 daily users.

Mr Albanese will be in Adelaide to announce that the project could now begin a year earlier than the current 2017/2018 timeframe.

“This funding complements Labor’s $500 million commitment … for the AdeLINK tram network,” he said.

“Together, these projects will create thousands of new jobs as well as improve quality of life, boost productivity and decrease congestion.”

The Gawler Line electrification is top of Infrastructure Australia’s state priority list, but the State Government needs Federal help to get it started. Labor’s commitment has prompted a call for the Federal Coalition to match it.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that the Coalition would also be willing to kick in for the projects, even though it was his Government that made the original cut.

In 2013 the Coalition wrote to the State Government advising it would withdraw the expected $76.2 million for the line.

“The Australian Government is focusing its investment priorities on rail freight projects and the delivery of roads and highways to improve productivity and safety for all road users,” then-Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss said in a letter.

At the time, State Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis called it a “complete act of bastardry on the people of the North”.

State Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said the electrification would be “central to providing extra capacity for travel between Gawler and Adelaide, providing a more efficient, comfortable and reliable journey for all Gawler commuters”.

“The electrification of the Gawler rail line could begin by the end of this year after the Federal Labor Party promised to reinstate funding cut by the Coalition Government,” he said.

“We now call on the Federal Coalition to match the Federal Labor Party’s pledge to electrify the Gawler rail line so that residents of Adelaide’s northern suburbs can reap the benefits of a modern and efficient train network.”

Last year Mr Turnbull was asked if he would restore the funding, and he emphasised the shift between his Government — which is in favour of public transport — and the Government under Tony Abbott — which was focused on freight and highways.

“The denial of public transport options in our cities discriminates against the old, the poor and the young,” he said. “It is a critical matter of equity to ensure that we have good planning, urban planning across cities.”