NOT a cent, a single dollar or even a brass razoo will be found in the Victorian budget for new trains for the North East line.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sadly for many passengers that won’t be a surprise.
They are likely to shrug their shoulders and say it has been ever thus when it comes to replacing the 1980s carriages which are past due for replacement.
But would not it have been reasonable to allocate some money in the budget?
The Victorian Labor government is arguing it won’t commit cash until the Coalition federal government spends money on track repairs.
But that does not mean there should not have been an allocation in Tuesday’s economic plan.
It would have been a sign the administration of Premier Daniel Andrews was set to act on its key responsibility for the Albury route and acted as a light on the hill for promise-weary passengers.
Transport Minister Jacinta Allan’s spokesman has told The Border Mail she is ready to order new trains once her federal counterpart Darren Chester agrees to bankroll line work.
How can she do that in the short term when there is no money in the budget for the rolling stock?
The lack of any financial commitment to carriages just adds to the cynicism of passengers, erodes faith in the Victorian government’s promises for the line and allows its political opponents in the North East to play up the perception it is Melbourne-centric.
Mr Andrews, during a recent visit to Wangaratta, described himself as the “best briefed Premier in the history of this state on the failings of the North East line”.
That being the case, you can only wonder why Mr Andrews won’t commit some money upfront to new trains.
On his visits to the North East, Mr Andrews has been happy to stress his Wangaratta links, once citing his mother as a complainant when it came to the trains.
Well he could have shown some serious respect for the region by allocating money for carriages.
Instead the tedious tit-for-tat, Spring Street v Capital Hill, argument over North East’s rail line and service continues.
It is worth remembering the track from Essendon to Wodonga was constructed over three years from 1870 to 1873, a fraction of the time that its modern-day passengers have waited for improvements.
