The North East's three Coalition MPs are in agreement about what they want to see in Monday's Victorian budget: a funding commitment for new trains.
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After Euroa MP Steph Ryan this month called for "full funding in this year's budget for the trains to be purchased", Ovens Valley's Tim McCurdy and Benambra's Bill Tilley have got on board.
Speaking in Victorian Parliament after he was re-elected, Mr McCurdy said it had been three years since Premier Daniel Andrews promised the rolling stock.
"Passengers need and deserve a rail service they can rely on to get them to appointments, to employment and to special events," he said.
"They want trains, not an unreliable service where they do not know if a bus or a train will be turning up or how many hours it will take to get from Wangaratta to Melbourne."
Mr McCurdy has also pushed the government to allocate $5 million for a basketball stadium at Wangaratta High School, which was an election promise made by him if the Coalition won power, plus $2 million to fund the next phase of a cafe at the Mount Buffalo Chalet.
"We are still years away from the building being used for accommodation again, but opening the cafe would certainly bring more visitors to the chalet and offer a more well-rounded experience," he said.
In a statement sent to The Border Mail, Mr Tilley said it was unlikely funding for trains would be in the budget.
"We know how long it takes to build these trains, the back log of orders and frankly if they are not in this budget then we will have new tracks but no new trains," he said.
But the Victorian government has stood by its policy of waiting to fund the promised new rolling stock, promising the trains will be ready in time for when the Australian Rail Track Corporation upgrades are completed.
Mr Tilley also called for funding for Wodonga Middle Years' Huon campus and better public transport.
"We also haven't seen any real increase in bus funding in Wodonga for 12 years against a back drop of a city that has grown by 20 per cent," he said.
Northern Victoria MP Jaclyn Symes was tight-lipped about what to expect.
"I can't preempt the budget, but what I can say is that the Andrews Labor government is absolutely dedicated to rural and regional Victoria," she said
"Me as the Minister for Regional Development and Agriculture, which fundamentally is about country communities, I'm very much looking forward to revealing the budget on Monday."
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