Regional Rail Freight Network Program
Timeframe: Short term
Cost: $180 million
What's happening
Funds from the Commonwealth, State and Local governments, as well as industry, have been provided to enable the commencement of construction of the Dooen (Wimmera) regional intermodal terminal with completion expected in 2011.
Further improvements are also in progress to the Mildura corridor, where level crossings are being upgraded to provide for improved safety and to reduce passenger and rail freight service transit times.
With the end of the drought, the line to Deniliquin has been reopened to allow rice and grain to be railed to Victorian ports.
Victorian State Government funding has been made available for the Iluka mineral sands traffic to construct a rail siding at Hopetoun for loading mineral sands into trains and at the Hamilton processing plant.
Project description
The $180 million project was commissioned to rehabilitate and maintain Victoria's rail freight network. The initial rehabilitation of the freight railways designated as Gold and Silver lines in the 2007 Rail Freight Network Review has been completed and the ongoing targeted maintenance of those lines is now progressing to ensure the rail freight network continues to operate efficiently based on the recommendations from the review.
Project benefits
- full upgrade of key rail freight lines
- standardisation of the Benalla-Oaklands line, allowing future grain harvests to be transported by rail
- reduced road freight traffic with rail taking up a great share of the freight task
- optimises use of existing freight terminal, silos and railway infrastructure.