How to reintroduce rail to Western Victoria if you’re going for low-cost and easy. Pretty sure the Nationals proposed something similar to this in 2018 but only to Horsham/Hamilton.
V/Line (purple) and The Overland (black) are left as is. SG trains are acquired and connect to Ararat trains.
If I was the Vic transport dept or V/Line and I was tasked with doing this sort’ve thing on the cheap, I’d look at what SG passenger trains were available in NSW or something. Or see if a small fleet could be acquired overseas and modified locally.
Alternatively use a couple of N Sets and N class locomotives that are freely available on the network.
Source: https://x.com/timothyjweber
I’m gonna say something that will horrify every Victorian gunzel out there: if you are going to the expense of running trains to the Wimmera, why not go the whole hog and run them to Melbourne via Geelong?
A small fleet of orphan trains are definitely NOT the answer. Remember 600DRC’s?
For ease of servicing and maintenance stick to what we have and utilise Ararat as the common sense interchange station with the existing BG to Ballarat. Plenty of room available at Ararat for an initial two x3 car SG VLocity lock up facility to keep the vandals at bay. Moreover, all those stations have to be re-built. Dunkeld, Heywood etc. Less of problem on the Adelaide SG but some works will still require implementing.
Not horrifying any gunzels…in the bigger picture gunzels aren’t important. For the ‘convenience’ of not changing trains, who wants to be adding an unecessary extra hour of travel to the City via North Shore, stopping at the mega cities of Streatham and Cressy?
When Mildura is eventually re-instated the same thing will happen at Maryborough and the old Ararat dock will be reinstated and the BG VLocity’s will dock there and a SG VLocity lock up facility to keep the vandals away will have to be constructed there as well.
BTW…I used to be the Vinelander on RP…so as that’s gone to god, this is the only forum, such as it is that’s available now.
Hi Mike, long time no forum.
Totally agree making western Vic an Ararat shuttle. Problem of course that VLine have to get over their aversion to Vlocity and unprotected crossings.
cheers John
Why not? once they get fit for pupose trains operate that route…..
N sets are long in the tooth but were good in their prime…
The newer trains need to exceed that standard in the test of time….
If not as I am observing currently time ask question what went wrong?