Photo: The Courier

Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan was in Maryborough today to discuss the benefits of the Freight-Passenger Rail Separation Project, which will also enable passenger services to move through the Ballarat Station precinct more easily.

The Freight-Passenger Rail Separation Project, announced by the Labor Government last week, will include converting the existing broad-gauge track between Ballarat and Maryborough to dual gauge.

The project will retain the dual-gauge connection between Maryborough and Dunolly to allow future passenger rail to Dunolly.

It will also untangle the congested rail network through the Ballarat Station precinct, creating separate paths for passenger and freight lines, including Maryborough services.

The project includes signalling upgrades, and redesigning the tracks through the station to remove congestion points, allowing trains to move through the area more easily.

The Armstrong Street Bridge in Ballarat will be replaced, and around one kilometre of track duplicated to allow two tracks to pass under the new bridge, getting rid of the existing bottleneck, allowing more space for trains to pass each other.

The project is just one of a suite of major projects, part of an unprecedented investment in regional rail infrastructure getting underway across the state.

Work has already begun on the $1.75 billion Regional Rail Revival program to upgrade every regional passenger line in Victoria, enabling more services and better reliability for train passengers throughout the state.