The future of the Murray Basin Rail Project remains in limbo after state Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan last week failed to confirm when it would be completed.

The project aimed to give producers in Victoria’s Murray basin a boost by upgrading rail infrastructure between key ports such as Melbourne, Geelong and Portland.

The project burned through its $440-million funding allocation in June after tracks on lines in the state’s northwest were found to be in significantly worse condition than initially suspected.

Municipalities including Ararat Rural City Council have thrown their support behind calls for the State Government to recommit to the project.

Works on a section of track from Ararat to Maryborough were fully funded, but further works from Maroona to Portland had not been completed, making it difficult for goods from the Ararat region to reach the port.

Rail Freight Alliance chief executive Reid Mather said the project had been disastrous for producers reliant on rail in the state’s west.

“We were better off before the project started,” he said. 

“When you standardise one section of the network, you virtually isolate it from the rest of the network, so we are really left with less capacity than when we started, and we’ve spent close to $440-million.”

Rail Freight Alliance chairman Glenn Milne urged the government to commit to completing the project, saying continued delays were costing graingrowers, wine, fruit, mineral sands and other producers.

“Industry has invested millions of dollars in new locomotives, rolling stock conversion to standard gauge and warehousing, and the silence from the Victorian Government on the future of this project is deafening,” he said.

“A project that was to be completed nearly a year ago is far from complete, the current state of the tracks has reduced freight capacity, increased freight costs, increased road freight, and industry is hearing nothing.”

Member for Ripon and Shadow Treasurer Louise Staley was critical of a decision to recycle old steel rails as part of the project, which she said had significantly restricted the safe speed of trains in some areas.

“They have allowed rail to be reused rather than new rail,” she said.

“They didn’t put enough ballast in the track work, as a result we’re left with really slow speeds.

“There’s whole parts of the line further north that they haven’t done at all, they’ve just abandoned fixing them.”

Nationals deputy leader Peter Walsh described the project as a mess.

“The Andrews Government can’t walk away now and leave this project half done,” he said.

“Producers and stakeholders are demanding the State Government finish this project, in full.”

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