Ballarat could become the home of single gauge rail maintenance in Western Victoria if passenger services were returned to Horsham and Hamilton, according to a leading train lobby group.
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Eight councils throughout Western Victoria are ramping up their lobbying efforts to reinstate passenger services into the state’s west.
If given the green light, the trains would travel to Ballarat before continuing on towards Southern Cross. The $369 million project would require the standardisation of 88 kilometres of broad gauge track between Ballarat and Ararat.
While the VLocity fleet is serviced at Ballarat East, West Melbourne and at the Bombardier plant at Dandenong, there is no dedicated facility for maintenance of standard gauge trains.
Rail Futures Institute secretary Dr Bill Russell said the Ballarat East facility could be adjusted in the short-term to service the standard gauge trains, but a dedicated facility would be required long-term.
“If those services (to Horsham and Hamilton) are committed to it’d bring forward the need (for a new maintenance facility) by some years,” Dr Russell said. “Creating Ballarat as a standard gauge hub makes sense.”
A block in the Ballarat West Employment Precinct has been earmarked as the potential site for train stabling, however its development would require state or federal funding.
While no firm figures exist around the workshop’s cost, Dr Russell estimated it could cost up to $200 million.
A 2017 feasibility study commissioned by the councils recommended returning the services between 2021 and 2026, with four return services from Horsham on weekdays and three from Hamilton.
The study stated “it is almost certain that new maintenance capacity will be needed” if passenger trains were to return to Horsham and Hamilton.
City of Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh backed the push, saying “if the regions are prospering then so are we”.
“To be the capital of country Victoria we need to be able to provide appropriate infrastructure to the regions,” Cr McIntosh said.
The Coalition has pledged to spend $4 million developing a business case for the Western Rail Project should it win November’s election. Speaking to Fairfax Media in April, Lowan MP Emma Kealy said “there needs to be investment put into public transport in regional towns to support population growth and decentralisation”.
However the government is yet match the commitment. In a statement a government spokesperson said “we’re continuing to work with communities in the west of the state to develop localised solutions for their transport needs”.