Why is there no train to Mildura?

Mildura is the sixth largest city in Victoria, but it doesn't have a passenger train. Today I discuss Mildura passenger trains, past, present and future.
Discord server: / discord
Footage credits:
• Train Enthusiast's Vid...
• Trains on the Mildura ...
00:00 Intro
00:47 History before 1993
01:56 Jeff Kennett
02:06 History since 1993
03:35 The present
04:46 The future
05:50 My concept
08:02 Conclusion
08:17 Outro

[@Nick-kz6dg]

The Overland should definitely be taken over by V/Line (and have SA funding restored). JBR has no incentive to run a commuter service, giving it to V/Line would give it an operator that cares about its success and JBR can continue to focus on their rail holiday trains.

[@buzzytrains9037]

it would be so great that way...

[@maxrebo8455]

I’d have agreed with that but we just last Sunday rode the overland and the onboard service in premium was superb. The vast majority of passengers were leisure travellers in premium, which was almost full and a large number in red standard were too. Fortunately the new SA government reinstated subsidies for the next three years in this year’s budget.

[@garynewton1263]

Yep. If I were V Line I would also get a Mt Gambier train service going via Hamilton & Portland.

[@garynewton1263]

@@maxrebo8455 Premium? Whats that.......sitting up in coach seats? No thanks, I would never be stupid enough to hand over cash to sit up all day on a 14 hr trip. Bring back sleeper cars and I'm in! Oh and the Motorail service.

[@adamaviation6236]

​@@garynewton1263 why not both

[@teganvincent3295]

The way you pronounced Ouyen makes me giggle 🤣 it's said like oh-yen. My grandmother lives in Ouyen and I have family in Mildura and ugh a passenger line to Mildura would be wonderful. Would be a lot more comfortable than the existing v/line buses that are basically the only way to get up that way if you don't drive.

[@Nathan-gs5tw]

Irymple as well, it's pronounced like eye-rimple

[@kenoliver8913]

Yet more of a mess that ultimately stems from Melbourne having hired an Irish Chief Engineer in the 1850s while Sydney hired an English one. It is a good illustration of how infrastructure decisions can have VERY long term consequences. How the broad gauge/standard gauge/narrow gauge (for Queensland) confusion has held back Australia!

[@Harris-pp5of]

I’m really hoping that the Mangatang Line doesn’t close as I live on that line and it would be sad seeing no trains😢

[@AndrewCastlemaine]

I remember the Vinelander well. Thoroughly enjoyed my trips there and back

[@mikevale3620]

30 years ago I did ride the Vinelander to Mildura, regularly and as you say, travelling overnight saves travel time. Go to bed at your departing point...wake up an hour or so before your destination. Having said that, we live in a free enterprise society and the airlines are entitled to operate between Melbourne and Mildura. The travel times by plane are approximately twice as fast as V/Line is currently. Before the naysayers start and say...no way, only twice as fast... Remember the existing Bendigo or Swan Hill train/bus starts at Southern Cross or Mildura station, right in the heart of the City or in Mildura city. There's no travel time to allow for to/from airports, no check-in waiting time and the cost is WAY less by V/Line, around $55.00 each way compared to up to $450.00 each way by plane. Although there is currently a resurgence in sleeping car trains in Europe, I'm not certain this would be the case with a new Vinelander service and don't forget, V'Locity's and other DMU's are only allowed to currently travel at 80Km/h on the line between Mildura and Maryborough due in part to the many unprotected level crossings. I don't think this line will ever be upgraded to 160Km/h in my lifetime due to the expense which was factored about 15 years ago to be in excess of $2 Billion. Perhaps the current thinking of operating a V'Locity from Melbourne to Maryborough via Ballarat and change to a standard gauge train, perhaps a former train operating to Albury, which will start to be converted to V'Locity trains later this year could work, because these trains, as they are locomotive hauled are allowed to currently travel up to 100 km/h between Maryborough and Mildura. Just a few thoughts from me after giving this subject a LOT of thought over recent years.

[@adoreslaurel]

I did the same about 30 years ago also, put the car on the flat top and they hosed the dirt off when we got to Mildura, Bloody Kennett did a lot of damage then,closed off train lines sold off the rails, closed schools down close to the city [big fail]. Talk abouit going backwards, particularly when we should be encouraging people to consider country living.

[@nathancastle195]

VLine Is not going to operate an Isolated passenger train run using life expired rolling stock, breakdown would be frequent (as there are no servicing facilities) they would make every excuse under the sun to cancel train services, It would quickly be labeled the worst train service In Australia and a total public relations disaster. They won’t go there ! There Is scope to slice up to an hour from the Swan Hill - Melbourne journey through line upgrades and new rolling stock.

[@flickrscreen]

@@nathancastle195 I believe the author proposed new rollingstock with sleeping quarters. Realistically, all Victorian regional rollingstock will soon be Vlocity and its derivatives, eg: the new buffet modules; there's already a SG fleet which will grow as lines are gauge converted. Swan'ill will likely be the last bastion of the classic fleet until crossing improvements clear the way for less crashworthy VLs and higher speeds.

[@flickrscreen]

The airlines and airport are subsidised, so hardly a free enterprise operation. A sleeping service can happily take the back way, as it's not time-sensitive.

[@nathancastle195]

@@flickrscreen Passenger trains with sleeping facilities are been phased out due to the high cost to manage linen. The new long distance passenger trains proposed for NSW will not have sleeping facilities. Only the premium rolling hotel style passenger trains will have sleeping facilities, and customers will pay through the nose for the privilege. If someone can make one of these premium services to Mildura work, well good luck to them (but It sure won’t be the State Government)

[@johnblood3367]

Great video. Love the pronunciation of some of the towns.🤣🤣🤣

[@allenjones5525]

Yep even if they are wrong :)

[@tevitaaho2109]

😂😂😂

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

I'd love to catch a train to Oo-yen one day. 🤣

[@macka8884]

Listening to him pronounce Avoca was so cringe!! 🤣

[@glenbrown3011]

So Tal-bot and Cresick, are they new towns?? What about Ooyen??

[@wizzard5442]

Commenters, dont be so harsh on MMM's mispronunications, he's doing a mighty fine job in making these videos...........and for free. And according to an earlier video, he's still only in high school.

[@vincentweatherly9991]

One option that could be implemented now is a shuttle from Mildura to Maryborough that connects with the BG service that continues to Melbourne

[@andrewf6396]

Yes Vincent, I agree. A simple extension of the Ballarat to Maryborough service thru to Mildura would seem to be the most cost effective and most direct solution. Remember that anything rail-related is super-expensive, so it's best not to construct or duplicate convoluted services such as routing via Geelong/Gheringhap (wtf?!) when there already exists a direct and well-served route directly between Ballarat and Melbourne. Thanks to MetroManMelbourne for your interesting clip.

[@darylcheshire1618]

people might moan about changing trains but remember when the up Maryborough was joined to the up Ararat at Ballarat, they made all the passengers disembark. So you may as well change at a break of guage platform. I think the government queried the disembarking practice at Ballarat and that is not done any more.

[@lisakemp7352]

We shouldn’t have to change to another service until we get to the city !

[@vincentweatherly9991]

@@lisakemp7352we shouldn't but the only way to convince the gov for anything to mildura would be by giving them the cheapest option. Also, would you prefer a service that could theretically start tomorrow or one years into the future with no guarantee that it will actually happen fully, similar to the Murray basin where funding dried up

[@flickrscreen]

@@darylcheshire1618 yes, the only place in the state it occurs; a rare catchup to the wider world.

[@fauzirahman3285]

Perhaps a day service can form as a standard gauge service starting from Geelong and/or Ballarat connecting with the broad gauge services, and the night service can be a SG sleeper starting from Melbourne.

[@flickrscreen]

Quite; this was alluded to in the video; a sleeping service has no speed imperative.

[@FogartyAvenue]

This is absolutely incredible.

[@watfordman4639]

Great video again!

[@thechristoff78]

The best way is a daily shuttle to Maryborough, then join the VLO service to Melbourne.

[@garyfield4032]

A shuttle to Maryborough would be a good alternative even using the standard gauge N Sets which are being mothballed until a full service is introduced

[@casperblackcat1975]

What Mildura needs is a prospector style train which they have running from Perth to Kalgoorlie It could get from Melbourne to Mildura In just under 6 hours

[@rileycummaudo8612]

That would certainly be helpful

[@qjtvaddict]

If it’s just one train daily or a handful just don’t bother

[@bluecent]

One issue we are dealing with is a century old rail system that has been updated in a piecemeal way and only intermittently. First in the 1980’s with newer air conditioned rolling stock, then in the 2000’s with Velocity trains and track upgrades. But meanwhile the infrastructure crumbles. Thank goodness for regionally focused Labor governments who value to role of regional public transport. Unlike Kennet and co who ripped the heart out of regional Victoria through rail and school closures.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

It’s a lie to say that the system of today isn’t better than it was 50 years ago though. Of course I would be all for further upgrades and really more should have happened as you say.

[@ethansrailwayvlogs]

Would be awesome to see! And the Bairnsdale line to be reopen to Orbost. :)

[@MetroManMelbourne]

extremely unlikely that Orbost will see a train again, but could be interesting

[@mikevale3620]

I recently travelled to Bairnsdale by V/Line with my bike and rode the East Gippsland Rail Trail to Orbost. This was formerly the Orbost line. It's 80km and the railway closed around 25 years ago to freight, however it closed to regular passenger trains around 80 years ago as the local people in Orbost at that time preferred to travel by bus to/from Bairnsdale. The bus was faster and the tiny rail motor of that time was very uncomfortable to travel in and the then VR must have decided to contract the service to a bus company. All this information is provided in signage along the rail trail. Of interest is the huge rail trestle bridge at Orbost which will soon be restored and the rail trail will use this to arrive at and depart from Orbost across the iconic Snowy River. See link below: www.savethesnowyrailbridge.org/

[@timallardyce1216]

@@MetroManMelbourne It won't as the track is long gone and is now a popular rail trail

[@garynewton1263]

I don't think Orbost is large enough. And the problem is the line east of Bairnsdale is gone. I was there in November and checked it out but the Orbost route is beyond re-opening sadly.

[@julianbizdoaca1546]

Should ask former premier Jeff Kennet why he closed the line

[@shalami2]

i always drive along the mildura line when i go to my grandpa’s property and it’s just sitting there

[@Alexander_Dunn]

For freight

[@shalami2]

@@Alexander_Dunn no it’s disused

[@MetroManMelbourne]

@@shalami2 It is used for freight trains (around 8 per day I think), with no passenger service since 1993.

[@shalami2]

@@MetroManMelbourne really? it always looks disused to me, maybe i’m thinking of a different railway edit: oh i know the one, i have a video of a train going on that line

[@adelaidefreighttrainsandra4246]

@@shalami2 they run the regular fruit to and from merrbine and the occasional grain to and from yelta

[@jacintaedwards1123]

About bloody time. I dont get why in the early 90s the govt would cancel the Mildura service? Why not Swan Hill? And why is there no train to Horsham or Leongatha?

[@MetroManMelbourne]

Jeff Kennett in the early 1990s had some... unusual thoughts about regional rail. Every service other than the "interurban" (Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Seymour, Traralgon) services was at one point planned to be cancelled, however ultimately only Horsham, Leongatha, Mildura, Ararat, Cobram and Bairnsdale were.

[@nathancastle195]

The Mildura passenger train service had the highest subsidy per person (It cost tax payers the most per passenger) The Road Coach / Train combination via Swan Hill was a faster journey time than the train via Donald Both Horsham and Leongatha services had low patronage. Horsham was cut back to Ararat for a year In 1993 (awaiting completion of major highway road works) than further to Ballarat In 1994 (this was timed In with the gauge conversion of the Melbourne - Adelaide railway, Ararat Yard got carved right back to the bone)

[@adelaidefreighttrainsandra4246]

160km that would be the standard gauge verlocitys testing comenses on Wednesday and Thursday hopefully all going well this service is certainly the way to go

[@kerri-annestevens3694]

it would make to sense for tourists and locals alike to have this sevice

[@smurftums]

NSW XPT and Explorer trainsets (that are about to be retired) would make a good interim train set, to operate the service (maybe V/line should add a few extra units to the existing NSW train order for their new country rail stock).

[@mikevale3620]

We don't need NSW cast-offs. Victoria has enough cast-off spare train sets to undertake this project.

[@TrickyMario7654]

I'd add Woomelang as a stop on the Mildura train too, seeing as it was one when the service ceased in 1993. Otherwise, this video has a pretty similar plan to the one I have in my mind.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

I disagree. Whether or not the service stopped in 1993 is irrelevant - it would require investment at every station to reopen, and would increase travel time, so my view is that you can’t justify a station there (or some of the other small stops like speed where it’s unclear whether it stopped in 1993).

[@RohanMcMaster]

Should have been one sentence: Bloody Jeff Kennett

[@FallOfTheLiving]

Lovely vid. Thorn in my side about saying avoca like mocca not AV-OAK-A

[@bushranger51]

As an old Maryborough boy, I cringed when I heard that pronunciation too, as well as the bad pronunciations of Maryborough, and Dunolly.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

sorry about that. I will make sure in future videos I look up the correct pronunciation before saying town names and the like.

[@greenberyl]

I can forgive such a small sin when the thought and research is so good.

[@allenjones5525]

@@MetroManMelbourne All good but you need to get out into rural Vic to really get to know the town names . Of course, assuming one can do that in the not too distant future..

[@timallardyce1216]

I love your idea of 4 daily services on this corridor, but you should perhaps look at the existing Donald bus timetable. I believe that bus only runs 3 times a week. There are not that many people on the towns up to this point and while a daily return service could possibly be justified, 2 could not. Same with Mildura itself. 2 x daily services are unlikely , though perhaps 1-2 days a week an extra could be run. Perhaps Friday, Sunday or Monday. Perhaps on the days the Donald service doesn't. I also doubt there are enough crossing loops that are still able to be used for that many trains. Many might still be there, but are disconnected and weren't gauge converted. There is no way they will ever upgrade the tracks for 160 or even 130kph. 100kph is possible. If a trip could be under 8 hours (I think that's how long it took before) then it would be competitive, but I can't see it taking under 7. Especially with the route via Geelong being longer, though of course it is straighter than the Ballarat main line. They would have to add more loops Keep up the videos though. Great to watch. Hope they do something about hte far west of the state. Horsham and to Adelaide as that corridor needs better service as you said.

[@peterfranks-ue]

Victoria is basically broke, with an interest bill of about $10M per day, estimated to reach over $20M per day in a several years time. Victoria won't be seeing many new projects for the foreseeable future, with simply no way to pay down the current crippling state debt.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

Using debt to build much needed infrastructure is good, actually.

[@peterfranks-ue]

@@MetroManMelbourne Only to a point. Victoria is fast tracking toward $200B+, which will take generations to repay. Interest is costing $10M per day and projected to reach $20M within a few years. That is taxpayers money which could be going into hospitals etc instead of interest repayments i.e. down the drain.

[@davidskipsey300]

some years back i post a msg to the department of transport about electrifying the mildura/melbourne line sevice.he said that he would look into it.

[@garynewton1263]

Exactly what I wanna know. 35,000 people in Mildura and no train service. Swan Hill, Bairnsdale, Echuca and Maryborough are all smaller towns but have train services. Very strange. Scrap the Overland and change The Ghan to a Melbourne to Darwin service. And change the Indian Pacific so it runs through Melbourne instead of Broken Hill.

[@nathancastle195]

Has a lot to do with the low standard of the railway alignment and track linking Mildura (80 km/h max but much lower In some places) Swan Hill Is on the way to Mildura, Mildura Is a very long way away from Melbourne by Victorian standards.

[@garynewton1263]

@@nathancastle195 Yeah ok but what's Swqn Hill got to do with Mildura? Mildura has over 35,000 residents. Swan Hill is around 11,000 so do you get my point? Swan Hill is also a long way from Melbourne but apparently those people are special.

[@nathancastle195]

@@garynewton1263 As I said Swan Hill Is on the way between Melbourne / Bendigo and Mildura (the railway between Bendigo and Swan Hill has historically been of a higher standard (faster more direct) than of the railway between Ballarat and Mildura)

[@garynewton1263]

@@nathancastle195 Ok well lets change that..........for the sake of the 35,000 in Mildura and for others living on the line who don't like Coaches.

[@nathancastle195]

@@garynewton1263 Road Coaches are all that's on offer, there are no plans to change that.

[@jeffurand5972]

If you want to dual gauge the line from Maryborough to Ballarat down to geringhap the maximum speed is only 80 km an hour .so the best thing to do is STD gauge Maryborough to geringhap and then the same from Ballarat to ararat which then gives another alternative line but there is 1 problem for ararat passenger trains will come into the station and crews will have to change ends to continue either to mildura or to melbourne sorry this is long but this is the fact thankyou for reading

[@MetroManMelbourne]

80km/h for BG trains only, SG can go 160

[@lachlanbaker2031]

Nice video, but unfortunately I don’t think it’ll happen. As a Mildura resident I regularly use the existing bus/train service between Melbourne and Mildura. While it certainly has issues, it’s only about an 8 hour trip compared to the vinelander being 10 hours when it ran. While buses do suck, it’s a preferable journey. The f### up of the MBRP has done serious damage to the competitiveness of rail freight in the region too, but the federal government has stepped in with a rescue package to start it up again.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

obviously a new vinelander service would be much faster - as I mentioned in the video, something around 5 hours at an average speed of 130km/h (certainly feasible). Hopefully the MBRP does get finished properly.

[@bushranger51]

@@MetroManMelbourne But currently there is no part of the MBRP above Maryborough that is rated for 130kph, much less the Ararat to Maryborough section, I also know personally of one very sharp curve above Donald that would destroy any attempt at too. Also there is another factor not pencilled in, V/Line reduces the speed on most lines in summer to reduce the risk of rails buckling under extreme heat.

[@Nathan-gs5tw]

there's 16-20 flights a day between Melbourne and Mildura, and they carry at least 600 people a day. Seems like easily enough to justify a twice daily service by train. The current bus/coach service is disruptive for night journeys and coaches are more expensive to run than a train longer term.

[@jaxsonneil1308]

If it returned it would have to come back through Kerang, as I am trying to get the grain corp here sold to someone and I am trying to work with the council and V/line to get the sidings put back in at the Kerang station, move the shire sheds so trains in Kerang can have a round house again, have the line reopen back to the BP Fuel station yard near my house so BP can get fuel carriages again. Although this probably won’t happen again if the Vinelander was to run it *HAS* to come through Kerang.

[@peteranscombe1162]

I think you have overlooked a major operational issue when discussing passenger rail on SG between Adelaide and Mildura. Standard gauge services are predominantly intended and used for long haul freight ie 1km+ long slow to start and stop trundling along at say 80 kmh which run 24/7. Scheduling a faster passenger service to run between freight in both directions would be nigh impossible IMO. If you have experienced wait times on loops now with heritage services you will understand what I mean. As others have suggested I support the idea of a shuttle from Mildura to Maryborough. The 400km would take 4.5 hrs. Add the 2.5 hrs Melbourne to Maryborough a total trip time of say 8 hours to Mildura would compare quite favorably with a 6+ hrs non stop drive or 8 hr coach journey. But again the shuttle would still have to be scheduled to fit in with freight but there might be a better chance of finding a slot over the relatively shorter distance. Another factor to be considered is the speed rating of the track.

[@125sloth]

It is worse being stuck on a heritage service in a loop which is full of idiot enthusiasts with their trousers down around their ankles. Figure of speech by the way, But some of them are grubs.

[@rohantrainvlogs]

I’d say you dual the line from Maryborugh- Geelong and you have a shuttle from Geelong to Mildura with a service on Sunday night going from Mildura to Melbourne and a service Friday night going from Melbourne to Mildura for those wanting to go to Mildura for the weekend/live in Mildura and work in Melbourne. The services from Melbourne could run via Bacchus Marsh as it won’t take as long as running it via North Shore

[@MetroManMelbourne]

why not run every train to Melbourne?

[@rohantrainvlogs]

@@MetroManMelbourne the distance needed and the time it would take to run is why I would have inregular service

[@MetroManMelbourne]

@@rohantrainvlogs not much longer via Geelong than via Bacchus Marsh, and having a direct train would make more passengers ride the service as they wouldn't have to interchange.

[@rohantrainvlogs]

@@MetroManMelbourne That would work. Maybe there could be a night and morning service to Mildura and shuttles during the day

[@davidskipsey300]

what about elcectrifying the mildura/melbourne service/mildura!!!is that feasible

[@user-qg7ii2zv2o]

I've been thinking right, and maybe the Overland should like go to Mildura as a via, and then it goes to SA on the left side of Mildura on the way to SA. Like, my Dad's cousin lives up in Mildura and we've been wanting to see him for like a couple of years but it's a pain going up and down getting a bus and train

[@davidskipsey300]

i remeber the vinelander service.just 2 cars and 1 service car with a meal service

[@davidskipsey300]

doeas the jolly mont rail way still operate?

[@davidskipsey5806]

a victorian government proposal to continue the passenger service to adelaide was rejected because soil tests proved that soil was to soft as well as the fact that there would be far to many rail hairpin bends just as you get over the border into south australia.

[@anthonywatts2033]

Av-oak-a, and o-yen

[@iannosworthy1529]

Good one Anthony (I agree)but the content is great

[@Thetiersofmadness]

Anyone know how much it would cost to charter a heritage train to Mildura?

[@holidaymail]

As a newbie to all of this, I must ask....why go such a circuitous journey? Why not extend the Swan Hill line straight through?

[@klebdotio3284]

would cost a lot more than it would to convert the already existing line between geelong and ballarat to standard gauge, as there has never been a train between swan hill and mildura

[@MetroManMelbourne]

As the person above me said. Would be more expensive and little demand in between.

[@u5n792]

nice

[@davidskipsey5806]

there are to many wheat stations that require a speed restriction of 40mph which i experienced back in the in the early '60s,'70s.

[@brenm412]

Also, don't forget that if you dual gauge Maryborough to Geelong, you'll impose an 80 kmh limit.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

for broad gauge only, mildura SG would be unaffected...

[@rileycummaudo8612]

Have you heard of the red cliffs historical railway

[@missabitchy4928]

I always took the train from Ballarat to Mildura and back, and it never went via Ararat? always ran the Sunraysia Line along the Sunraysia Highway overnight

[@MetroManMelbourne]

yeah, however in 2018 the line was converted from broad (1600mm between the rails) to standard (1435mm) gauge, and due to the lack of a standard gauge line via ballarat, all services currently run via ararat

[@electro_sykes]

I reckon a mildura to melbourne service may one day be relaunched by a private company

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

Would cheap flights between the cities help or hinder the case to reintroduce passenger rail service?

[@Nathan-gs5tw]

They don't exist due to lack of competition, and either way having another option is always welcome. It supports regional development to the towns along the way and is lower carbon emission. The subsidies needed to get cheap flights running would probably cost much more longer term than establishing the rail link

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

@@Nathan-gs5tw Bonza is theoretically very cheap for the route ($50 each way), though prices obviously rise as it gets close to the flight date, and the timetable is mostly designed for tourists. I just wonder if V/Line would be looking at Bonza to create a business case to rebuild the tracks past Maryborough for a passenger service

[@mikevale3620]

As cheap as $9.20?

[@adrianrichards6825]

​@@bigdude101ohyeahbonza went bust

[@KarrathaJohn]

Have you approached any of the MPs in Mildura about your proposal?

[@kurvaceous]

Mildura services could run express to Donald while Donald services stop at Dunolly and St Arnaud

[@MetroManMelbourne]

That makes no sense - you save 2 minutes for a Mildura train while also increasing journey times by literal hours for passengers in-between thanks to less frequency

[@kurvaceous]

Well,Weekdays only would be a good start.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

@@kurvaceous uhhhh no that would just be inconsistent and make things more annoying for passengers. There's 0 need to run express really.

[@kurvaceous]

How about this.Donald services can stop at Creswick,Clunes and Talbot while Mildura services run express through to Maryborough

[@helenwoodhouse-herrick8537]

Helen of Nhill It would be so good if the Voice Over could pronounce the towns correctly being Irymple, Avoca, Dunolly, Ouyen etc., but apart from that our country rail should be ALL back on track for regional people especially up in Mildura in the Mallee and fix the Timetable on the OVERLAND from Adel-Melb & vice versa to be able to get to our 2 cities and use passenger rail like our city folk who take passenger rail for granted. We just want what they have & not having to fight this Vic Labour Gov to see our needs.

[@lisakemp7352]

I used to travel on the train to Mildura all the time until Jeff Kennett got rid of it

[@davidskipsey5806]

the last i heard was that mildura's yelta rail took it over or something to do with yelta freight anyway butanyway people are catching planes nowadays.

[@mikevale3620]

Really?

[@Nightrain_35]

I think you should become the next Victoria's transportation minister and put all your ides to work

[@Andrewgtv05]

Well why can’t a standard gauge only train

[@electro_sykes]

Jeff Kenett supported car dependancy

[@coreymartinez5701]

It’s pronounced EYE-rimple not Iri-imple 😂 hopefully one day services would be resumed but I highly highly doubt it, it’s a very indirect route as it is, I don’t see why they can’t just branch off the Swan Hill line instead

[@electro_sykes]

just upgrade the airport and get REX or QANTASLINK to offer direct flights between Melbourne and Mildura with funding and support from the State Government

[@electro_sykes]

South East Queensland is building an extensive regional rail network to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba for the 2032 Olympics. And this high speed rail network will be fully electrified and powered by renewable energy that is eco-friendly for the environment.

[@nathancastle195]

Queensland Transport has been talking about some of these rail projects for decades, Maroochydore should of already had Its railway In service, but the Queensland Government lacks the cash to fulfill their promises, they can't really afford to host the 2032 Olympics !

[@electro_sykes]

@@nathancastle195 yet they can afford to build that second M1 or another Bruce Highway. They support car dependancy

[@nathancastle195]

@@electro_sykes It's the sheer amount of lobby groups who a pushing the development of the Bruce Highway

[@kurvaceous]

But here’s the issue.The Murray Basin Rail Project ran out of money and the new revised Murray Basin Rail Project doesn’t include ANY standardised work.This means that ANY way to get past Maryborough will need to go via Avoca and Ararat.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

Which is stupid and should change, something I talked about in the video :)

[@kurvaceous]

Which is why it was put on hold all along

[@geoffmacauley4940]

I am of the belief The Overland should be run by V/Line using N Class locomotives and refurbished N Class passenger cars. Why not return passenger rail services to Mildura? The locomotives are available, the passenger cars need to be refurbished, but they are available. All that is needed is a Standard Gauge railway from Gheringhap to Maryborough via Ballarat.

[@troypapageorgiou1435]

Do any freight trains actually pass the Mildura station

[@MetroManMelbourne]

Yes, one-two per day per direction.

[@dustmakr]

that pronunciation of irymple tho 6:02

[@robertcameron2808]

People in Mildura need a passenger train premier Andrews is a man of vision bring back a Vinelander

[@adrianrichards6825]

That clown said no

[@bushranger51]

@@adrianrichards6825 Yeah, and Jacinta Allen isn't that much better, and she was the state minister for transport at one time. Coming from Bendigo, she should know better.

[@davidskipsey5806]

they should lectrify the service to melb/adelaide

[@exulan9570]

Congraz, this video was on an abc news article

[@user-zy4yw9uw6n]

Travel in Europe by rail. It's awesome. Very reliable. Come back home to.Aus and we're still.living in the 60s reg public transport.

[@qjtvaddict]

At least it’s not American bad

[@tucoramirez6058]

We don't do a very good job of building the regions in Australia, do we? How can you expect doctors, professionals etc.. to move to places that are essentially cut off and have stuff all there?

[@InfiniteWonderz2]

tl:dr the people with deepers pockets wanted an airport and kennet said its either rail or air and they chose air

[@MetroManMelbourne]

not really, no

[@thecraw3388]

No insult intended, but I've never heard so many towns mispronounced.

[@lauriewhite8153]

I know, where is Avocka??

[@rohanyorston8745]

Why do you suggest that domestic flights shouldn't exist, at 7.22? People enjoy being able to get to Melbourne in an hour.

[@mikevale3620]

Travel time may be only an hour and 10 mins...but don't forget the travel times to/from each airport has to be figured in...and the expense of air versus V/Line.

[@rohanyorston8745]

@@mikevale3620 all of your points are valid. However none of them explain why flights shouldn't exist.

[@u5n792]

I think the main point is because of fuel emissions but I think it should still exist because if you're in a hurry and you dont have the time for a 5hr drive you just take the plane.

[@qjtvaddict]

@@mikevale3620 then build HSR

[@qjtvaddict]

@@u5n792 not good enough if you want to kill planes your trains need to be VERY FAST AND FREQUENT

[@extraverse]

This is a really great video, although the pronunciation of some towns threw me out of reality a bit.

[@greebo7857]

What's the point when I can't even travel past FernTree Gully?

[@v26224]

interested why you feel domestic flights to Mildura shouldn't exist? there is very limited other transport if you don't have a car.

[@tonyhenwood9280]

all train lines should be all linkable there should a standard high speed gauge for all train lines and Australia should as a whole have a standardised rail system with the view of running both passenger and freight services

[@davidskipsey300]

heres a one heck of an idea is run TRAM or Light rail service between mildura cbd and red cliffs cbd.what do you think.hhhmmm????!!!!

[@adrianrichards6825]

😂

[@itechcircle9410]

too bad I finished the video.

[@HazptMedia]

Ah yes, Mildura.

[@justanaverageguy1351]

There is now.

[@natashacocks9806]

Mildura actually has almost double the population you keep saying it's over 100,000 here not 55,000. Plus you also don't include population of NSW side of river in the Wentworth Shire, they are probably closer to your 55,000 mark you keep spouting.

[@LittleJimmyR]

Avoca line being pronounced wrong

[@brenm412]

Whilst the intentions are great, there's basically no chance of it happening. The governments like most households have to tighten their spending and the reality is that public transport already exists which costs a miniscule of what it would cost to reinstate a passenger service (which would be an 80 kmh service at best). No way would it ever be 130 kmh or 160 kmh. Most people who follow these channels are die hard railfans who just want trains everywhere for their own whims. Government will be asking "can residents of all those intermediate towns (Donald, St. Arnaud, Ouyen, Irymple, etc.) travel if they don't have their own car"? The answer is Yes - even if it is a bus. Suddenly your plans are out of scope. Why fork out a few billion so that people can still get from Ouyen to Melbourne as they can now? I would dearly love to see a train run as well - but I'm realistic to know it won't happen. Look at what happened at Leongatha. The locals all lobbied to have the trains return and the trains came back. Problem is that hardly anyone was using them. This is what they're wary of with Mildura - people want to have the train available. They're not saying they would use it though. It's just a piece of mind factor. Leongatha was a relatively short piece of line that had money spent to get it back to standard for pass services. Mildura is way longer and the governments will have learnt from getting burned before. I use governments in plural as well as neither major party will touch this one.

[@ceebee23]

ask Mr Kennett .. and Mr Bracks .. both failed us!!!! Why??????

[@nathancastle195]

They weren't chancing any votes !

[@davidskipsey5806]

ger rail to spencer street station has been taken off and replaced by the interstate bus service (i.e. grey hound buse service).

[@RealNotOrrio]

why is this video on abc news

[@adrianrichards6825]

Mildura needs there trian back

[@cjwallace57]

Great video, love your theory, but please visit every township that you mention in the video and ask the locals how to pronounce their home towns name correctly, and update video please, good luck with your proposal.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

Two letters n o

[@jimcrawford5039]

dont worry about it , we all know where he means.

[@d3ezz_nutzzz344]

Bring the trains back

[@yangerz2009]

1:56

[@lisakemp7352]

Ouyen= Oh yen

[@lordsamich755]

4:57 Just standard gauge everything, and stop this madness.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

so true

[@Jordan-288]

Can you imagine the cost of standardising every broad gauge track in Victoria, not to mention fleet conversion to standard gauge, try getting any voters to swallow that pill at an election, cost would be astronomical, and it would come at the expense of other key infrastructure projects. I mean it cost half a billion and 4 years just to do Albury to Seymour back in 2008, on top of all that, to my knowledge the maximum line speed isn't even 160, it's 130 (which I know doesn't impact the N Sets now, but it will impact future V/Locity's). Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of being the golden child of Australian railways, NSW.

[@lordsamich755]

@@Jordan-288 "Can you imagine the cost of standardizing every broad gauge track in Victoria" I can but a lot of that is due to an insistence on doing things in the most expensive and convoluted way possible. My suspicion is that a lot of it is deliberate, 'job creation' exercises. Suppose before we go spending money on concrete sleepers. We replace all the old rail spikes with sleeper plates designed to take batten screws. We construct a machine that automatically unbolts, shifts the rail and then re-bolts the sleeper plates. 100% of the preparation can be done without interrupting services, and then the entire line could shift gauge in the one afternoon. "it would come at the expense of other key infrastructure projects" I think a lot of people in the rail fan / rail activist groups have this side of things precisely bass akwards. Gage conversion is more important priority as it allows the rail infrastructure to actually earn money.

[@Jordan-288]

@@lordsamich755 Maybe I'm really naive, but do we have such machines? Also, I know that the cost of infrastructure has sky rocketed in recent years and I'm sure there is wastage that can be cut, but given some of the price tags and budget blow outs for major infrastructure projects across Australia funded on either side of politics these days ($2.7 billion on Metro Tunnel Melbourne, $4 billion on WestConnex in Sydney, on cost blowouts), do you really see it changing? Also, and I know this may sound really cynical on my behalf, though not my intention, but gauge standardisation is not really a sexy infrastructure project, in the same way a "Metro Tunnel" "Airport Rail Link" "Suburban Rail Loop" or even just line extensions such as Mernda rail are. I'm not saying it's not important but a lot of the broader population would probably think "why are we spending all this money on something we basically already have". I would argue unfortunately, it's only rail nerds that really understand the impact of having a universal gauge. As I said I'm not trying to be cynical here and I certainly think more has been done regarding rail by this current government rather than the previous government, but it has been suggested by several political commentators that the reason Labor won so many of previously safe LNP seats on the Glen Waverley and Ringwood/Belgrave/Lilydale rail corridors was almost 100% down to the suburban rail loop announcement.

[@MetroManMelbourne]

@@Jordan-288 Certainly feasible to operate SG at 160 (NSW does it), also, there would likely be significant benefit from such a project meaning that the Cost-Benefit Ratio could quite possible be above 1.0. Such a project could also be taken out in incremental steps, such as converting the Shepparton/Tocumwal/Toolamba-Deniliquin line next, then the Bendigo/Swan Hill line etc. I personally hope that within a few decades BG will only be found in Victoria in the metro network, to Warrnambool, (Leongatha if it reopens) and Bairnsdale.

[@bluecent]

It won’t happen if the good people of the Sunraysia keep voting National. And the pronunciation of Ouyen and Irymple is a little out. Oh-yen Eye-rimple

[@MetroManMelbourne]

Sorry about that. I’ve been making sure I check pronunciation a lot more than I did when I made this video. No newer videos have this many errors.

[@Bobman84]

Labor promised to return it in 1999. So, why didn't they?

[@vorlons100]

our governments are hopless

[@cliffleigh7450]

So you want them to upgrade 500km of track from 80 kmh to 160kmh for 2 trains per day - I don't think so. It's not just the track quality it's the radius of the curves to be changed.

[@gregbuckley1078]

Have you seen the train service in third world countries lately it’s far far advance to Australia. We are being had.

[@beagle7622]

Politics, that it.

[@garynewton1263]

Exactly what I wanna know.............35,000 people, bigger than Swan Hill, Warrnambool, Shepparton, Traralgon, Bairnsdale and Echuca yet all these other places have a train service. Shameful. And what has this Andrews govt done in 8 years? No Mildura, Mornington or Whittlesea train services. Stop focusing on Melbourne and fix Victoria!

[@nathancastle195]

It's the sheer distance Mildura Is away from Melbourne and the lack of population between Mildura and Ballarat and crappy track because of soft clay.

[@garynewton1263]

@@nathancastle195 Sounds like somebody is trying everything possible to keep them without a train service? Yet they can build the Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin and thats way harsher terrain.

[@nathancastle195]

@@garynewton1263 Th Government Is not Interested In spending heaps of money In the Sunraysia Region )because they're not chancing any votes there.

[@garynewton1263]

@@nathancastle195 Ok. I'd never vote Labor so the people of Mildura wouldn't be stupid enough to vote Labor either. Full of shit these socialist scumbags........'election night announcements'............"We'll govern for ALL Victorians".............I have no time for liars or people that make excuses. What Victoria needs is statewide strike action until a passenger service to Mildura, Leongatha and Horsham is initiated.

[@qjtvaddict]

You really have low standards for rail service it’s laughable

[@glenbrown3011]

The pronunciation of some of the towns was so cringe worthy.