State Liberals want action on Geelong rail sooner

THE state Liberals have weighed into the debate about upgrading the Geelong-Melbourne railway line, claiming state Labor has failed to plan for Geelong’s growth.

Earlier this month, Infrastructure Australia (IA) released its updated Infrastructure Priority List (IPL) last week, with “Melbourne– Geelong rail capacity enhancement” listed in the fourth of four categories and slated to be carried out over the longer term (10-15 years).

The project has been on the IPL since March 2018, and the report notes the “emerging capacity gap” caused by the existing diesel train service, which has limited capacity.

The report states electrification of the line would allow operation of highercapacity trains with increased reliability and inter-operability with the Melbourne metropolitan rail system, and duplicating the existing single track pair would also allow for express services to operate through the suburban Melbourne sections of the line, providing faster journey times between Geelong and Melbourne.

Geelong is forecast to increase in population from 286,000 in 2016 to 445,000 in 2046, and Shadow Minister for Public Transport (Metropolitan) and Transport Infrastructure David Davis said the 56 per cent increase (or a jump of nearly 160,000 people) “will require significant investment into the Geelong train service”.

“The report identifies that the current train service is limited in capacity; train speeds are low due to the inability to run express services between Geelong and Melbourne.

“The report also identifies that investment in the Geelong line is ‘a nationally significant opportunity to facilitate growth in a key regional city’.

“Despite the identified importance of investing into the Geelong train service, Labor has failed to plan for, and build the desperately needed train service Geelong deserves.”

Ahead of last year’s state election, Labor pledged to commit its share of the $736 million needed for the project if it retained power.