Another serious incident in Footscray last evening with a large road train colliding with the rail bridge in Napier Street Footscray. This truck is much larger than a B-Double a dangerous load and length for a suburban if not residential street in inner Melbourne. Nearby to this bridge and road are a university campus school with students crossing the roads between the campus and the railway station and another school on the other side of the bridge.
Road freight policy now clearly unsustainable
This situation under the management of Vicroads is clearly now unsustainable and Melbourne is drowning under truck based traffic sewers with no end in sight even after $billions have been wasted on new toll roads which in delivery has removed much needed railway yard space in and around the Port of Melbourne. In place of rail freight capacity at the port we now have elevated roads the source of 1000’s of tonnes of diesel pollution close to the inner suburbs of Australia’s largest city. Could we have got it more wrong?
The answer according to Melissa Horne is more trucks and elevated roadways to the making the system even more inefficient than it already is and increasing the cost of doing business through the Port of Melbourne.
Does anyone remember Daniel Andrews stating to the media post the awful deaths of 4 police on the Eastern Freeway (where a truck collided with parked cars in the emergency lane) a complete review into Heavy Vehicle Licensing would be undertaken due to this tragedy, was this completed Vicroads? I guess it was not and will never be.
Is this symptomatic of a wider freight planning problem in Victoria?
Melissa Horne has failed over a period of 8 years to progress and delivery Port Rail Shuttles possibly because the toll road operator could find the alternative rail option an issue for their business case. Why have so many freight rail projects been poorly delivered or some with federal government funding not even started?
How could any government be so poor at rail freight that almost every project is over budget or not delivered at all. One only needs to look at the MBRP (Murray Basin Rail Project) to see just how poorly her portfolio has been managed and how the network to the source of much freight between the Port and Mildura has been botched and remains botched.
Where is the Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal promised 7 years ago? Still not delivered.
Where is the intermodal and rail terminal promised for Ballarat West and in part funded by the Federal Government? Still not up and running after 4 years+ and 2 years ago we were told work had started.
The Rail Freight terminal in Bairnsdale yet to see a revenue train despite the investment and the big media exercise.
Where is the uplift of track maintenance for grain loading facilities north of Manangatang a rail line in disrepair. The line north of the current terminus is flush with grain storage as far as Robinvale. Large dangerous trucks make 1000’s of journeys along a C Grade road damaging the road and making the route very unsafe.
Approximately 4 kilometres north of Manangatang.
01/10/2023. (Jeremy Lavery)
Where are the funds to fix the Dookie Rail Line where 100,000’s of tonnes of grain per annum now goes by truck with a rail line in disrepair?
Some years ago V/Line again removed the junction ensuring trains could not access the branch line to the silos despite alarm from the industry and grain handlers who required access to the facilities on the line.
Where is the proposed intermodal terminal for Geelong?
Geelong Intermodal Freight Terminal Feasibility Study 2007 : Final Report prepared for Victorian Department of Infrastructure Regional Development Victoria and City of Greater Geelong.
This study recommended the implementation of a Geelong Intermodal Terminal in Heales Road. Nothing has come of this report to the Government. The report also made recommendations around industry based supply chain management that could move to rail, nothing has eventuated. 16 years later Geelong is no better off and neither are the business who advocated for rail. Anyone who drives the chaotic highway between Melbourne and Geelong will agree to the unsustainable number heavy vehicles on the highway a dangerous situation.
Why was rail access to the Port of Geelong wharf at Corio “torn out” when there were plans to use rail into the wharf for the delivery of products? Victoria is not supportive of rail freight in Geelong at all. I am unable to identify a key rail freight project in Geelong over the period of the report being produced and today.
Where is the much needed funding for the positive business case for the intermodal terminal at Ouyen? Blocked by the Victorian Government. Further information on the benefits from the Federal Government. Not delivered not even started.
Where is the Intermodal terminal for Portland North with a business case positive for the establishment has been around for several years?
Why has the amount of freight on the Highway between the Port of Portland and South Australia in the form of wood chips not been moved to rail at the request of freight shippers? Further investment into the rail line between Portland and Maroona has been approved years later. The Port of Portland is the largest sustainable hardwood chip export port in the world, and with throughput volumes hitting 7.5 million tonnes per annum back in 2016-17, is a major economic contributor to both Victorian and South Australian regional communities. All of this product is transported by road from South Australia to the Port of Portland with no plans to move this extensive and large freight task to a cheaper rail based alternative.
Why was Vicroads allowed to block an intermodal terminal development at Marong several years ago that if it had proceeded would have removed 10000’s of annual truck journeys off roads around Bendigo making the roads safer?
There have been calls to reopen the important rail line between Bendigo/Eaglehawk and Inglewood to allow for large grain transfers dating back to 2020. These requests have been ignored by the Victorian Government. Recently V/Line removed the junction to the line and track ensuring any reactivation of the line through to Bridgewater is much harder and more expensive.
With a big harvests predicted, restoring a 41km rail line between Eaglehawk and Inglewood will bring huge benefits to Victoria, says Rail Futures Institute president John Hearsch.
There does appear however to be recent plans to establish a business park at Marong but will it be rail connected?
If you read the above you could be excused for thinking there is a deliberate plan to ensure rail in Victoria is not progressed despite business wanting to use rail and not polluting road freight. it is time to reduce the reliance Victoria has on road freight for sake of the state, the environment, reduced road maintenance and majority of road users.
Let’s take a closer look at a plan from Freight Australia. This plan from 2017-2024 sets out the necessary projects to address the freight issues, the only projects to have made any headway in my view are the road freight supporting projects of the Westgate Tunnel (not really a tunnel) and North East Link (grossly over budget now without a viable business case). Notice the lack of action on further rail standardisation and also on the charging trucks and heavy vehicles to pay more for the road usage and covering road wear and tear.
Heavy Vehicle Road Reform aims to introduce a stronger link between the charges paid, investment in the roads, and the services that heavy vehicle road users receive. The reform benefits are estimated at $6.5 billion to $13.3 billion over 20 years, including benefits such as improved heavy vehicle access
to roads and reduced operating costs for industry from better quality roads.
Never implemented of course despite being raised many times over the last decade.
Rail Freight not at the forefront of freight planning
Where are the sidings to new mining developments of mineral sands in Victoria? No sidings are planned even though the area to be mined will be around 20+ years and is close to the rail line. Instead a plan was established to truck the sands to the rail line using two modes of transport rather than a cheaper one clogging the roads with more trucks and increasing costs.
Where is Freight Victoria in all of this? Their stated reason for being is “Freight Victoria has been established to coordinate the development of an efficient freight and logistics system.” Can they put hand on heart and say they have delivered this?
In fact statements for the Rail Freight Alliance in Victoria highlight systematic and worrying mismanagement of the Murray Basin Rail Project which has for years been unfinished and reducing the amount of freight being carried on rail out of the North West of Victoria.
Does Victoria hold seldom used cycling rail trails more important than safer roads and rail freight?
Recently Maree Edwards MP backed a plan to further remove the rail network between Castlemaine and Maryborough reducing options for rail traffic between the Bendigo Line and Maryborough through Ballarat to Geelong. There were plans drafted by those who sought a return of passenger rail services between Bendigo and Maryborough connecting with Ballarat, ignored and debunked by V/Line. (Rail Revival Alliance) Despite Maree Edwards MP advocating for better public transport solutions for her seat she has been campaigning for the removal of the rail line between Castlemaine and Maryborough. Indeed Maree Edwards stated in relation to the Snapshot Of Community Input On Better Public Transport in 2015:
“People in Castlemaine and Bendigo are passionate about public transport. The Regional Network Development Plan will be better for their input and ideas.” 23rd October 2015
Those wondering why Victorian roads have been falling apart need look no further than the shocking management of Victoria’s freight system under Melissa Horne who yesterday (30th July 2024) finally admitted the state of disrepair of the road network was due to the large number of heavy vehicles using the road network which was “good for the economy” she stated.
Under Melissa Horne what is “good for the economy” is the new need for hundreds of millions of extra $$ investment per annum on roads that been torn apart by overly large trucks creating unsafe roads and roads full of trucks responsible for serious road accidents each and every year. Many roads run parallel to rail lines starved of funds and those not being funded are being removed for seldom used cycling tracks creating an even bigger problem over coming periods as the freight task doubles and triples in the state of Victoria. It is hard to image it being any worse or a worse mess than it is now.
It is debatable if Victorians even understand what is happening as many comments on social media regarding the state of the roads come back to the need for more and more funding when rail lines per Kilometre can be maintained for a 1/3 of the cost of a road for a similar amount of freight volume. They are never about understanding the cause of the disrepair and available alternatives.
It should be clear to all Victorian’s (as it is to regional councils who are not able to pick up the bill for Vicroads decision making) the roads are less safe now than they were 10 years ago or even 5 years with government policy pushing freight onto road and off rail perhaps in support large tollway and roadway investments in Melbourne and in doing so potentially appease ALP donors who expect a return for their investment in the government.
Whatever the reason the freight rail network is in chaos in Victoria and the road network is now showing clear signs of how decisions made around freight rail lack of investment are going to cost the state $billions more when this could have been avoided by a balanced approach to freight investment.
It is clear to those who look through seeing eyes we have a major problem with transport policy in Victoria.
Enjoyed reading this article and for one did not realise the government and especially V/Line had messed up so many projects and prevented access to branch lines with grain terminals that is unforgivable in any terms especially when customers need rail access for productivity. They are either showing malice toward rail or are completed incompetent. Maybe both?
The equally important part is why are Vicroads allowing such large dangerous vehicles in suburban streets good pickup.
If those intermodal terminals outlined were to be built the need for trucks from regional Victoria to the port of Melbourne would be reduced. The government does not want this because transurban do not want this as it will impact the Westgate tunnel revenues.
Vicroads are a pathetic organisation.
Great review and highlights the issues and lack of understanding by Freight Victoria around the freight task. it is a real mess actually with no planning for the freight task.
This shocking who at vicroads has been responsible for the larger trucks everyone should have known would break the roads?
Ouyen community have not lost any energy in advocating for Murray Basin Rail Mark 2 (MBR2) and Sunraysia Mallee Port Link (SMPL)
While the whole Mildura Rural City Council LGA, Sunraysia & SW NSW has been impacted by a half baked Murray Basin Rail Project, Ouyen has been hit hardest;
– Graincorp suspended the investment in whole new train loading facility & new rail siding to reduce paddock to port costs
– new intermodal rail terminal Sunraysia Mallee Port Link suspended
– new hay export facility (50 jobs) suspended
– critical mineral sands mining disincentivised.