Updated
The Victorian Government has announced additional funding for rail freight upgrades in the states north and west.
Agriculture minister Jaala Pulford says the total amount of money now committed to the project is $416 million, which will be spent standardising the gauge that trains use in parts of northern and western Victoria.
"The business case has been completed and released, so we've been working hard on this for many months," she said.
"The main line needs to be upgraded from Geelong to Mildura, but also the branch lines, Manangatang and Sea Lake as well as Murrayville.
"We also want to reopen the standard gauge connection that currently exists between Maryborough and Ararat.
"This is the Murray Basil rail plan with the works. What our industry needs and deserves is for this to be done once and for all, and we're very excited to be able to put out all the details today."
Grain growers welcomed the news, saying that it should mean more money in their pockets.
Brett Hosking, from the Victorian Farmers Federation, said that there were plenty of trains around that could come to work the upgraded lines.
"Particularly with the demise we've seen in mining, and the excess rolling stock in a lot of those areas, it could be bought down to Victoria and could actually compete for the business. That's got to create efficiencies and cost savings to growers," he said.
The Opposition's Peter Walsh said the move was "just Labor re-announcing a Coalition project with a new logo".
Topics: agricultural-prices, agricultural-marketing, fruit, grain, vegetables, wheat, wool, irrigation, rail-transport, beef-cattle, dairy-production, sheep-production, mining-rural, melbourne-3000
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