Wednesday 6 June 2018
Labor’s botched upgrade of the Maryborough to Ararat rail line has left the line in a disastrous state just five months after it was reopened.
The revelation follows Daniel Andrews’ decision to put an indefinite hold on Stage 3 of the $440 million Murray Basin Rail Project a project initiated under the former Liberal Nationals government.
Today in Parliament Daniel Andrews’ Transport Minister Jacinta Allan was unable to say when repairs on the line would begin despite reports of cracks in sleepers and that some road crossings are yet to be commissioned.
The Maryborough-Ararat line was reopened in January after work was completed to standardise and upgrade the track.
Labor’s failure to manage this project properly is risking a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to upgrade and standardise the rail system of north-west Victoria and make it easier for our producers to get their product to port.
Comments attributable to Leader of The Nationals Peter Walsh
Daniel Andrews has botched upgrades to the Maryborough-Ararat rail line and derailed the critical Murray Basin Rail Project.
Producers and businesses in west and north-west Victoria have been dealt a dud hand by the Premier for Melbourne and his city-centric Labor Government.
It’s clear Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan have no plans to make sure the Basin Rail is delivered on-time and by the end of the year.