Murray Basin Rail lines doomed to be divided

Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan is spending $48.8m of taxpayers’ money blocking competition and the future standardisation of the state’s Sea Lake grain freight line, say growers.

Installing these non-gauge convertible concrete sleepers on the Sea Lake line will massively blow out the cost of any future track standardisation.

VICTORIA’S peak farmer body has warned the Murray Basin rail freight network is doomed to remain a divided network, after the Andrews Government started installing non-gauge convertible concrete sleepers on the Sea Lake line.

The installation means the expensive concrete sleepers would have to be ripped out and replaced again, to convert the old broad-gauge track to a standard gauge line that links in with the rest of the Murray Basin rail freight network.

Farmers had assumed the state and federally funded $48.8 million refurbishment of the 141km Seal Lake line would replace 70,000 rotten red gum sleepers with new timber or gauge convertible concrete sleepers.

But grain growers living near the line have been shocked to see non-gauge convertible concrete sleepers being placed alongside the track, ready for installation.

Victorian Farmers Federation grains group president Ashley Fraser said the state’s Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan had to “come clean on what’s going on.

“They’re (the Andrews Government) condemning the Sea Lake and Manangatang lines to a lifetime of inefficiency.”

Ms Allan and her Premier Daniel Andrews originally promised to create a fully upgraded Murray Basin Rail network that converted all broad gauge lines to the narrower standard gauge, ending the inefficiency of having broad and standard gauge tracks that could not connect and required different train sets, increasing costs and curbing competition.

But after running out of funds due to poor management in 2019, the Andrews Government dumped its original promise to fully standardise the northwest network, and went cap in hand to the Federal Government for an extra $200.2m just to complete stage two of what was meant to be a five-stage project.

Since then grain growers had at least hoped the refurbishment of the 141km Korong Vale-Sea Lake track would use new red gum sleepers or dual gauge convertible concrete sleepers to ensure any future government had the option of converting it and the Manangatang lines to standard gauge.

But the latest decision to install non-gauge convertible concrete sleepers means they would have to be ripped out and replaced as part of an future standardisation.

“This government is not looking to the future,” Mr Fraser said.

Ms Allan’s office said “the sleepers being installed between Korong Vale and Sea Lake are largely timber with a limited deployment of concrete at the end of the line”.

However grain growers took a photo of concrete sleepers lined next to the track 13km south of Sea Lake, which is part of a 22km section they say is being fully refurbished with the non-convertible concrete sleepers.

Growers also report another 58km from Berriwillock to Wycheproof is being refurbished with a mix of red-gum and non-convertible concrete sleepers.

MORE

SLEEPERS TO BE REPLACED ON SEA LAKE LINE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDS MURRAY BASIN RAIL FIX