Two of the three projects were in Victoria - $A 320m for stage three of the Shepparton rail line upgrade and $A 208m for stage two of the Warrnambool rail line upgrade.
The other big-ticket item was in Western Australia (WA) with the federal government committing $A 102.3m for Perth’s Metronet high capacity signalling and the new Morley - Ellenbrook line.
Other projects to attract funding included:
- $A 13.24m for Goodwood and Torrens junctions in South Australia (SA)
- $A 9m for North East rail line supporting infrastructure in Victoria
- $A 7.5m for improving passenger rail services from northern Victoria to Melbourne
- $A 15m for planning for Sydney - Newcastle Faster Rail.
- $A 4m for the Perth - Bunbury faster rail corridor investigation in WA
- Additional Federal Government equity investment in the Australia Rail Track Corporation to deliver the Inland Rail
- $A 150m for Inland Rail grade separation for additional road interfaces in New South Wales (NSW)
- $A 7.75m for the Northern NSW Inland Port at Narrabri
- $A 2.6m for the Ettamogah Rail Hub in NSW
- $A 30m for Western Rail Plan planning in Victoria
- $A 7.5m for improving connectivity to the Port of Melbourne business case, and
- $A 5m for Kenwick Intermodal Terminal planning in WA.
Australasian Railway Association (ARA) CEO, Ms Caroline Wilkie, says the measures confirmed the essential role rail will play in creating jobs and getting the economy back on its feet.
Wilkie added that the transformational impact of Inland Rail was recognised and welcomed the support for faster rail from Sydney to Newcastle and Perth to Bunbury. “The future of rail in Australia will rely first on improvements to existing infrastructure, followed by the development of new, faster rail connections,” she says.
