Shepparton rail upgrade on parliamentary agenda

Mar 6, 2020

Transport Minister Jacinta Allan reaffirmed stage two of Shepparton’s rail upgrade would be completed in 2022, and that the stage three business case is under way, in a rail-focused parliamentary session yesterday.

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State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed used her question without notice to put rail on the agenda, pressing Ms Allan on when stage two of the Shepparton Rail Plan would be complete, and the status of the stage three business plan.

The minister said a contractor for stage two would be appointed in the coming months, and construction would start later this year, due to be completed in 2022.

She said the stage three business case was “progressing well”, but said the upgrade was a big job due to “decades of neglect” by previous governments.

“We will be taking advice from our expert engineers in Rail Projects Victoria on how to best deliver the works on stage three,” she said.

“We are determined to deliver on what we have committed to the Shepparton community.”

State Member for Euroa Steph Ryan also addressed regional rail, asking Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne when the outdated signalling system on the Seymour line would be updated.

Ms Horne did not indicate if or when this specific problem would be fixed, but said the government had invested $27 million to upgrade the Seymour line.

The News reported yesterday a leading rail expert said the nine services to Shepparton would be “difficult” to run if the more than 100-year-old signalling system at Seymour was not upgraded.

The State Government has dedicated $356 million for stage one and two of the Shepparton line upgrade.

Stage three will include signalling and track upgrades to enable trains to travel at up to 130 km/h and deliver nine daily return services to Shepparton, with funding and timeline for this part of the project subject to a business case.

The News understands the department did not see the existing signalling at Seymour as a constraint to delivering nine return services a day for Shepparton.