IT is welcome news for Border and North East rail passengers that Federal Transport Minister Darren Chester has accepted an invitation to ride the trouble-plagued line.
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But to be blunt, riding the train is one thing, taking action is another.
While the state of the rolling stock – and ours is bordering on ancient – is a state government issue, the condition of the track is a federal concern.
For too long we have felt neglected in this part of the world. For too long, politicians have pointed the finger at another tier of government in an attempt to wipe their hands of the problem.
It is pleasing to hear Mr Chester wants to work with Victorian transport minister Jacinta Allan to help solve the problems on the North East line.
We were told by Ms Allan that the state government was “doing their bit” last year after spending $15 million in its last state budget to reconfigure and upgrade carriages for the North East service.
On face value, $15 million seems a nice figure but when you compare it to the $518 million Ballarat received in the same budget for upgrades to train lines, platforms and rolling stock, you soon realise it’s little more than chicken feed.
For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s less than 3 per cent of what Ballarat received and it was less than 1 per cent of Victoria’s total spend on public transport in that budget.
By any standard, that’s hardly our “fair share” but Ms Allan, however, is right when she says the Australian Rail Track Corporation should be held to account by the federal government over the poor condition of the track.
It is widely acknowledged that mudholes are the main cause of the poor track condition and high number of speed restrictions, which in turn leads to maintenance problems and poor service reliability. Punctuality of the Albury V/Line service dropped 15 per cent in 2016.
Hopefully Mr Chester’s trip will provide the “enlightening experience” Border Rail Action Group Bill Traill has tipped.
Indi MP Cathy McGowan says Mr Chester’s visit “needs to have two prongs – to work with the Victorian government on new rolling stock and with the Australian Rail Track Corporation on a long-term plan to not just fix the problem, but for trains that will work for the next 50 years”.
Now that’s an excellent train of thought.
