The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) wants the Federal Government to inject more funding for state passenger rail following the completion of the $3.65 billion Regional Rail Link project in Victoria.
The project came in $187.5m under budget and ahead of schedule and will boost capacity for passengers in Melbourne’s west and Victoria’s major regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.
ARA Interim Chairman, Bob Herbert AM, said much of the project’s success was due to the collaboration and co-funding from both the Victorian and Federal Governments.
“The successful completion of this project is a shining example of a collaborative approach between governments with commitments that have endured their election cycles,” said Mr Herbert said.
“The Federal Government can take a leaf out of this book and consider where else they can assist state governments in building vital infrastructure needed in our capital cities and regional areas.
“The recent release of the Infrastructure Audit Report highlighted the dire reality of our nation’s current infrastructure challenge with congestion estimated to cost $53 billion in just over 15 years and road travel times in major city corridors expected to increase by at least 20 per cent in the same period.
“Population growth will swell the demand for public transport by 55 per cent in Sydney, 121 per cent in Melbourne and around 89 per cent in other capital cities.
“State governments cannot be expected to meet this challenge by footing the bill alone; it is time for the Federal Government, with the support of the private sector, to take decisive action to meet the nation’s burgeoning infrastructure needs,” Mr Herbert said.
The Regional Rail Link project has seen regional rail services separated from metropolitan rail services, providing additional capacity for passengers across the rail network, with trains running every 10 minutes for Geelong commuters throughout peak periods. The project was jointly funded with the Federal Government investing $2.7 billion and the Victorian Government contributing $931 million.