According to reports, the Victorian government has allegedly removed two proposed rail lines from its development plans for the burgeoning outer west region of Melbourne.
Before securing victory in the 2018 election, the Andrews government made a commitment to construct a novel electrified railway route connecting Melbourne to Melton and Wyndham Vale, which was outlined in the “Western Rail Plan”.
According to prior statements, the Western Rail Plan aims to duplicate and electrify the existing train lines in Melton and Wyndham Vale. These lines are currently utilized by diesel-powered V-Line trains from Geelong and Ballarat.
The decision to duplicate the railway was made with the intention of increasing its capacity in order to accommodate quicker and more frequent regional and suburban train services.
According to documents acquired by The Age in February, the Western Rail Plan does not include the construction of any new railway lines. Instead, the plan proposes that metropolitan trains will continue to operate on the existing track, which is also shared by regional trains.
According to the proposals, a portion of the current railway lines will undergo electrification.
When questioned about the activities scheduled outside the parliamentary premises earlier today, Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan stated that the aforementioned documents are classified as internal working materials and do not represent any official governmental determination.
In her statement to the press, she highlighted the diligent efforts of the transport authorities in consistently seeking opportunities for enhancing the rail network in Victoria.