Overview
The promises and proposals are flying in hard and fast as Victoria gears up for its next state election, and our railway situation is once again on everyone's radar.
Five months after the current Victorian Government revealed it was gearing up to start work on a high-speed train line between Geelong and Melbourne, the Opposition has served up alternative plans for its own $15–19 billion regional rail network upgrade.
Coalition's rail overhaul would see the Melbourne–Geelong commute slashed to just 32 minutes by 2022, using trains running at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour. The current journey clocks in at roughly an hour, with the state's best tracks only allowing for speeds of 160 kilometres per hour.
In the proposal unveiled today by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, the new 'European-style' rail network would also eventually drop travel times between Melbourne and Ballarat to 45 minutes, and squeeze the Melbourne to Bendigo trip down to 70 minutes. It would see currently closed passenger services to places like Mildura, Horsham, Donald and Hamilton reopened, and incorporate two new fleets of next-gen, high-speed trains.
The Opposition's proposed regional railway network.
According to the Opposition, the revamped network would lure a whole heap of people to move from the city to the country, and would take ten years to complete. Mr Guy also confirmed that his proposal would complement existing plans for an Airport Rail Link and the Metro Tunnel, hinting that he expects the Federal Government to chip in funds as well.
Labour government's plans weren't a heap different, with proposed train speeds of 250–300 kilometres per hour and a link to the airport; however, it did not mention larger plans to link in and shorten times to Ballarat, Bendigo and other regional cities.
Either way, it looks like Melbourne will be getting itself a fancy new high-speed train to Geelong.