Regional Victorians Advocate for Passenger Rail Restoration Ahead of State Election

Regional Victorian residents and public transport advocates are pushing for the return of passenger rail services along crucial routes in the state, as it heads towards the November election.

Two of Victoria's largest regional cities, Geelong and Ballarat, have had no rail connection for nearly five decades, while Mildura in Victoria's north-west has been without a passenger rail service since 1993 when the Kennett government discontinued the service.

For years, residents along the Geelong-Ballarat route, which is currently only used for freight, have called for the return of the passenger service, calls backed by the Victorian Greens.

Deputy leader of the Greens and MP for western Victoria, Sarah Mansfield, said "it's time to open a conversation" about reinstating the service.

"A lot of people actually do travel between the two places, but they have to rely on a car," she said.

The other options are buses, with three daily services between Geelong and Ballarat, or catching a train into Melbourne first, but Dr Mansfield said "you're looking at several hours each way".

Dr Mansfield said there was high demand for a Geelong-Ballarat service due to significant growth in the area, which she said was only set to increase more in the coming decades.

"As Geelong and Ballarat become more significant economic and educational centres in and of themselves, there is more interest in people being able to travel between the two," she said.

The Greens hope to connect the route with the Maryborough to Ballarat line.

Wimmera Mallee left behind

Meanwhile, in Victoria's north-west, Mildura remains the largest regional city in the state without access to a passenger rail service.

Currently, the nearest passenger train service is based in Swan Hill, two and half hours away, with passengers required to catch a coach service from Mildura to Swan Hill.

Alternatively, residents can take the overnight bus to Melbourne, but both options take about eight hours each way.

A growing number of residents are calling for a train service between Mildura and Maryborough, which would connect to the wider rail network.

Rail Revival Alliance president Noel Laidlaw said costs of airfares, an aging population and the state of the roads between Mildura and Melbourne meant public transport was the only viable option for many.

Mildura Rural City Council is one of the five councils along the potential route which are advocating for the reintroduction of the service.

Council said the region faced significant challenges due to the absence of passenger trains, with the region's remoteness and limited public transport options restricting residents' access to essential services, education and social opportunities in other Victorian towns and in Melbourne.

Similar calls for the return of passenger rail have been echoed in the Wimmera, where the V/Line train service was discontinued in 1993.

The Melbourne to Adelaide train, The Overland, stops at stations across the Wimmera region four times a week: twice as it heads to Adelaide and twice when it comes back to Melbourne.

It has no mid-week service.

The train also goes on a standard gauge line via Ararat and Geelong, bypassing Ballarat, where many residents need to travel for medical appointments and other services.

Nhill resident Margaret Millington is one of many people in the Wimmera that travels to Ballarat and Melbourne for medical appointments and to see family.

Ms Millington said in communities like Nhill, aging residents would rely on others to transport them to places they need to go.

A V/Line coach currently runs from Nhill to Ararat via Horsham, connecting with the wider train network at Ararat, but locals, including Ms Millington, are pushing for more frequent coach services to meet their daily needs.

They want to couple this with an additional mid-week Overland service in the short term, and longer term, the return of the V/Line train.

"That could happen now, and down the track, perhaps they could look at having daily services extended on from Ararat to Nhill … and with more than one service a week, with many services," Ms Millington said.

She recommended the state government do a feasibility study into how viable the passenger train would be for the Wimmera.

Questions about viability

Currently, the V/Line train servicing the Wimmera and Mallee ceases at Ararat and Maryborough.

The tracks beyond both stations were reconverted to standard gauge lines following the discontinuation of passenger rail, to focus on freight.

It means the lines are too narrow for current V/Line trains, which run on broad-gauge tracks across the state.

RMIT University sustainability and urban planning lecturer Liam Davies said if passenger rail was to be reinstated to Horsham and Mildura, a shuttle service to and from Ararat and Maryborough to connect with the wider rail network would be the "quickest and easiest option".

In 2022, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated that a passenger rail to Mildura running three times a week would cost $47 million.

Dr Davies said the figure would have considered the cost to upgrade the railway stations to be able to accommodate passenger rail and to modify the V/Line trains to be able to run on standard gauge.

He estimated that number would have increased since the 2022 forecast, but not by a lot.

However, he said the track would be limited to 80 kilometres an hour, meaning it would still take longer than the current service.

He believed the best option for the Wimmera in the short term would be to increase frequency of The Overland to service the region.

"That would then complement the existing coaches that run between Horsham and Ararat that connect in with the rest of the V/Line passenger network," Dr Davies said.

Parties respond to calls

Jeff Moran, a former Department of Transport worker and now policy coordinator with the Greens Ballarat branch and a preselected Greens candidate for the seat of Lowan in western Victoria, said, if elected, he would push for a shuttle train service between Kaniva and Ararat, that runs three times a day.

"[That would cost] next to nothing," Mr Moran said.

Mr Moran estimated the revival of a Ballarat to Geelong service would cost about $800 million, towards level crossing and platform upgrades and a fleet of trains.

One Nation member for the northern Victoria region Rikki-Lee Tyrell said the party supported the reintroduction of passenger rail services to Mildura, but said an audit of the Treasury would be required to see what money is available.

Speaking with ABC Regional Drive earlier this month, Shadow Minister for Public Transport Matthew Guy said he understood the desire from communities in western and north-west Victoria to be better connected by passenger rail.

He said Labor was "looking closely at the case for returning passenger rail services to Mildura and increasing services to Horsham" and would "work through these options" as part of its broader transport policy.

Mr Guy said the opposition would have more to say about passenger rail services in the Wimmera Mallee before the election.

In a statement, the state government said it was continuing to deliver more coach services across regional Victoria and would always ensure communities in the west and north-west Victoria had affordable and reliable public transport options.