Fighting for the Murray Basin Rail Project
The VFF is calling on the Victorian and Federal Governments to commit to fully funding the Murray Basin Rail Project as originally outlined in the 2015 business case, including the promised increases in Tonne Axle Load (TAL) capacity and train speeds. For every year this project is delayed, Victorian farmers lose $12 million in additional freight costs.
Victorian farmers need a long-term vision for a unified, modern regional rail network. As long as we continue to operate on two separate rail gauges in Victoria, farmers and industry will be made to suffer with an outdated, costly and inefficient network.
A fit-for-purpose rail freight network must provide an opportunity for competition amongst train providers, storage facilities, access to all ports and access to the national rail network.
The international competitiveness of our $1.5 billion Victorian grain industry relies on the productivity and efficiency of our supply chain. The conversion of old broad gauge rail lines to standard lines is critical to the efficient transport of grain and other products from North West Victoria to our ports.
Failing to convert the Sea Lake and Manangatang rail lines to standard gauge effectively isolates these lines from the rest of the Victorian and interstate network, and undermines the efficiency gains of the entire network upgrade project.
Further Information
For further information about the VFF’s Murray Basin Rail policy and advocacy, VFF members can call the VFF Policy Team on 1300 882 833 or email [email protected].