Mildura passenger train: Council study to be handed to Victorian Government

Attempts to bring back passenger trains in and out of Mildura – a service that was axed 27 years ago – are set to hit a key milestone in 2021.

The Vinelander train, pictured in 1988, used to carry passengers between Melbourne and Mildura.

A study exploring the need for passenger trains between Melbourne and Mildura is expected to be handed to the State Government this year.

Mildura Rural City Council ratepayers are footing the bill for the research, which also covers the Yarriamiack, Buloke, Central Goldfields and Northern Grampians local government areas.

The study will focus on the future regional transport needs in northwest Victoria, including consideration of passenger trains.

Services on the Mildura line were axed in September 1993 under the Kennett Government and a promise by the Bracks Government to reinstate the trains wasn’t fulfilled.

People gather at the Mildura train station to show their support for the return of a passenger service after the 1993 axing. Picture: supplied

Mildura Mayor Jason Modica said for remote communities, improved access to the state capital would have many benefits.

Noting that the study would take a broad view of transport, Cr Modica said it would take direction from what communities along the line route wanted.

Mildura Council made advocating for the return of rail one of four priorities in its Mildura Future Ready funding strategy.

A council statement said the study would be ready for presentation to the government by mid-2021.

“The study will develop the reasoning behind why government should invest in the development of its own detailed business case to better connect northwest Victorian communities to the rest of the state,” the statement said.

Malcolm Hillier and Bob Merlo next to an old Vinelander train 20 years after the service was cut.

Infrastructure Victoria did not recommend returning passenger trains to Mildura in its recent draft 30-year strategy.

And when asked about trains, a Victorian Government spokesperson last year talked up the number of coach services from Mildura.

Member for Mildura Ali Cupper, an independent who is in coalition with the Reason Party, has pushed for a train focused on the tourist market to run to Maryborough, where it would connect with Melbourne-bound services.

Ms Cupper has pitched this as an achievable first step to get trains back on the line using existing rolling stock.

Work being carried out as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project, which recently upgraded the Mildura line for freight services. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Cr Modica said the council study was looking to understand what type of service would be used by residents.

He said passengers may want a train service that runs “a little bit quicker than it did before it was terminated” in 1993.

“I think that any form of advocacy is good but I think the idea of going full steam ahead, pardon the pun, and looking at what the communities along the line want, to make it completely viable (to passengers) would be fantastic,” he said.

The council committed to spending $500,000 on passenger rail advocacy and study as part of Future Ready.