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JUST 18 more months — that’s the latest estimate from the federal government on how much longer track work on the Albury-Melbourne line will take.
Yet Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs, who said the Australian Rail Track Corporation was two-thirds the way through its five-year program, conceded there was “much work to be done” in the next 18 months.
“Significant progress has been made on the condition of the track between Melbourne and Sydney,” he said.
“This is supported by the excellent performance of the corridor.”
Mr Briggs made the comments when answering a question in Parliament from the member for Indi, Cathy McGowan.
Ms McGowan had urged the government to push for “a firm timeline” to fix the beleaguered track.
Mr Briggs said the “complex” $134 million ballast program that began in 2011, was focusing on fixed points on the Albury-Melbourne line.
Work between Seymour and Benalla that began on September 22 will finish this month with drainage works also planned.
Ms McGowan yesterday welcomed Mr Briggs’ timeline.
“With any luck, 18 months will become 12 months, will become six months and then we’ll have a good service,” she said.
She urged the public to keep the pressure on by continuing to write to MPs and petitioning the government for the works to be finished, saying the track corporation needed to be kept up to the mark.
Asked if she was confident the line would be repaired in 18 months, she had some scepticism.
“I don’t trust it — it moves and moves and moves,” she said.
“But they have set a date and my job is to keep them to it.”
She said the next challenge would be getting the Victorian government to buy new rolling stock.
“We don’t want 1950s carriages slowing it down,” she said.
