North East Rail Line to receive additional funding for upgrades

Published on 16 March 2018

The Commonwealth and State Governments have today announced a Bilateral Agreement in relation to Inland Rail, making Victoria the first state to sign up to the Inland Rail project. An agreement was reached to release $1.57 billion for the Regional Rail Revival program which will begin to be delivered to Victoria.

Part of the agreement is a resolution by the Commonwealth Government to contribute an additional $135 million to upgrade the Melbourne to Albury Rail Line. The original commitment of $100 million was not enough for the line to be upgraded to a class 2 standard, which is the minimum required for new modern trains to run.

Mayor, Cr Don Firth, said the importance of this funding cannot be underestimated.

“This announcement represents the beginning of a more connected future for those in North East Victoria.

“Upgrades to the line and new rolling stock will have a great impact on our communities.

“Benalla Rural City will soon be able to realise the benefit of our proximity to Melbourne as well as with regional centres, including Wangaratta, Wodonga and Albury.

“We are grateful to those involved in this initiative, including the Hume Corridor Passenger Rail Collaboration (comprised of Benalla Rural City Council, Rural City of Wangaratta, City of Wodonga, Albury City and the Border Rail Action Group), Victorian Minister for Public Transport and Major Projects Jacinta Allan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael McCormack and Member for Indi Cathy McGowan.”