Murray Basin Rail Project fix: $115m to feed freight into Geelong and Melbourne

Public Transport Victoria has blocked much of northwestern Victoria’s freight being taken off country and city roads.

A solution has been found that would allow grain and container freight trains from Northwest Victoria to avoid a 248km detour on their journey to Geelong.

The Ouyen community has come up with a simple solution to complete the most critical link of the Murray Basin Rail Project, which the Andrews government left half-built after running out of money in 2019.

Ouyen Inc volunteers recently enlisted Mildura Independent Ali Cupper to lodge a plan to complete the original project’s Ballarat-Geelong corridor with the independent Parliamentary Budget Office, which estimated it would cost $115.1 million.

The PBO estimate is a fraction of the $1 billion re-cost the government used in 2019 to abandon completing the project in full, based on a business case that Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan has refused to release in full.

All Ms Allan has released to date is a heavily redacted business case review, which dismissed upgrades and standardisation of the entire northwest Victorian rail network “due to cost escalation”, especially dual-gauging the Ballart-Geelong broad gauge line.

Ms Allan’s office blacked out all costs in the review document, which dumped the original project’s standardisation of the Manangatang and Sea Lake lines, plus the Gheringhap (Geelong) to Warrenheip line (just east of Ballarat), stating it would lead to “the increased potential for conflict with current and future passenger services”.

However, there are no passenger trains running on the Ballarat-Gheringhap broad gauge line, as all V/Line trains run from Melbourne to Ballarat, via the Bacchus Marsh line.

Members of Ouyen Inc recently discovered most of the $1 billion blowout was being driven by the high cost of making the Ballarat-Gheringhap track dual gauge, due to Public Transport Victoria insistence that it needed to continue using the track to cart empty broad gauge passenger carriages to Ballarat for maintenance.

“There is ample capacity on the existing broad gauge Bacchus Marsh line for them to do this,” Ouyen Inc volunteer Scott Anderson said.

Ouyen Inc consultant Michael O’Callaghan said converting the 132km from Gheringhap through to Ballarat and on to Maryborough to standard gauge, instead of expensive dual gauging, would dramatically reduce the Basin project costs.

He said the government’s failure to create the Ballarat-Geelong rail freight link meant trains travelling down northwest Victoria’s standard gauge network had to divert from Maryborough to Ararat, adding 248km to a return trip to Geelong.

Rupanyup grain grower Andrew Weidemann, who also sits on Ouyen Inc, said it was “totally bizarre” that PTV was insisting on accessing the Geelong-Ballarat line.

“We need a new plan and bipartisan support to get all the stakeholders at the table,” Mr Weidemann said.

Opposition agriculture spokesman Peter Walsh said standardisation of the Ballarat to Geelong line had always been part of the original Basin rail project.

“PTV should not be setting the rules for government policy,” Mr Walsh said.

The Weekly Times is seeking responses from Labor on whether it would support Ouyen Inc’s proposal.