Mayor calls all aboard for rail’s return to Bannockburn

THE debate for passenger rail services to the region has been reignited by Golden Plains Shire Council.

The goal was one of the priorities the council recently featured on its 2026 advocacy list ahead of this year’s state election.

It has been years since Bannockburn had travellers arrive alighting from a train.

However, mayor Cr Owen Sharkey is bullish about the prospect of a return for the mode of transport to the town.

Bannockburn has been forecast to have a further 8,000 homes and 18,000 residents over coming years, according to the council’s 2025 priority projects booklet.

Standing by the town’s former station, Cr Sharkey said the advocacy, coupled with a campaign for more bus services, was vital for the region’s growing population.

“You’ve seen the amount of effort we’re doing with regards to the buses,” he said. “And when we do get those bus lines hopefully coming in, well, I think we’ll all appreciate that it’s almost too late [for trains], you know?

“When you’ve got a community that’s growing as hard and fast as this, it’s so important to get public transport in at the start of things.

“We know once a train station comes to a township, it further enhances growth.”

He said trains were a critical piece in the puzzle that was the region’s public transport for their speed and convenience linking to centres such as Geelong and Melbourne.

Returning passenger rail to Bannockburn would also support populations in towns such as Meredith and Rokewood, Cr Sharkey said.

While he understood the outlay involved in passenger rail, Cr Sharkey said Bannockburn already had many of the elements required for running services.

“We’ve got the positioning for a station, we’ve got the rail line here,” he said. “We should be advancing with these things.

“We all know and appreciate Bannockburn’s going to see a significant amount of growth, and so are those sorts of satellite townships around us.

“So those all feed into there, plus that transport strategy that we’ve done, and you only have to walk down the street here and ask anyone and they’d be dying for our train station to be put here.”

More information on the advocacy list is at goldenplains.vic.gov.au