Re: [VIC] government announcement re rail upgrades

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Brian Evans (IOM) (bevans@omni.com.au) won a Nobel Prize for literature by writing:
> I would like to see such lines as the Horsham to Carpolac picking up 10
> wheat silos on that line alone.

Balmoral and Marnoo have also been mentioned. The Grain Elevators Board
fought very ahrd to keep the Balmoral line open when the previous Liberal
government closed it.

> What has to be worthwhile.  Also, I think
> there maybe some merrit on relaying some of the south gippsland line as
> business traffic was available down there at the time Kennett closed the
> line.

There has been a serious proposal to relay about 4km on the down side of
Leongatha to serve a purpose built superphosphate facility. There would be
at least a weekly train from North Shore. That's why SGR left in the Up
Home at Leongatha.

> One thought I cannot get out of my mind on these matters, is what has
> changed since F/V F/A have started running the service?  Why did V/line not
> get this business anyhow?

The government would quite simply not allow V/Line to pick up extra
traffic. This would have shown that government policy was wrong and that
railways could make money under government ownership.

Cheers
David