The Murray Basin Rail Project must be completed in full.
The $440 million project has been left in limbo with only two of the five stages completed.
The Victorian Government has produced a revised business case for the project and allocated $48 million in the 2020-21 Budget.
In response, the Federal Government has indicated it will invest a further $202.2 million to get the project back on track.
There are, however, some concerns with the revised project given the restoration and standardisation of the Sea Lake and Manangatang lines have been dropped.
That just can not happen and I’m glad to see the Federal Government has provided a further $5 million – to be matched by the State – for a business case to be produced for the entire project.
The MBRP involves standardising and upgrading more than 1000km of rail track and converting broad gauge to standard gauge.
It is a crucial infrastructure project to allow better movement of rain from farms in the Manangatang and Sea Lake areas to ports while also taking pressure off our roads by lessening the need to trucks for transportation.
I have pressed the Victorian Government several times about its commitment to completing the project in full, and it is an issue I will continue to fight hard for.
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