Tuesday, 18 February 2025

Gippsland rail line

Wayne FARNHAM (Narracan) (19:10): (1005) My adjournment this evening is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, and the action I seek is clarification on when the Gippsland line is going to suffer a 70-day closure. This has come to my attention not through the government but through locals in my area and at the local train station. I have been told that the government is planning quite a significant shutdown. I acknowledge there are going to be some minor shutdowns in February and March – it is on the website. But this rail line now has been getting closed for years, and I am sick and tired of the government not saying what they will do or keeping the communication lines open. Poor communication leads to confusion. I do not think it is too much to ask when such a significant shutdown is going to occur so the community can forward plan. We have schoolchildren on this train line. We have people working in Melbourne. It carries a significant amount of traffic. What the government does not realise is that a train ride from, say, Warragul to Melbourne, which normally takes about an hour and a half, now will take over 3 hours in a bus. That is a significant inconvenience to the community. I understand it has to happen. It is a signal upgrade of the entire line – I can accept that. But what I cannot accept on behalf of my community is no communication from the government, because you can imagine this is a huge imposition.

Unfortunately, down our way the government has form with not consulting the community. They promised to upgrade the line from Bunyip to Longwarry. There was going to be a duplication of the line along with the Bunyip River bridge. That started back in 2017. Come late 2022 or early 2023 the government had scrapped it; it was not to happen anymore. So my community is pretty sceptical when it comes to consultation with government.

I do not think it is too much to ask this government, if this is going to occur, when it is going to occur so my community have the heads up and can plan in advance for their travels.