05 Jul 2017 Seymour Telegraph, Seymour VIC (General News) by Lewis Fischer Victoria will receive funding for its Regional Rail Revival announced in the 2017-18 state budget. The North East Line will benefit from $140 million in upgrades which will provide for track, signalling and station improvements to prepare the line for the next generation of trains. Due to the gauge of the track, V/Line currently have a limited number of carriages that can run on the North East Line. These upgrades to the Seymour, Shepparton and North East lines are critical, so we can provide better services for passengers and plan for more efficient operation of rail freight in the future, Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said. The Regional Rail Revival was the centrepiece of the governments plans for regional Victoria before the project became the victim of an ongoing disagreement between the state and federal governments. Funding had been allocated to the project from a Federal Government asset recycling scheme related to the long-term lease of the Port of Melbourne. The State Government had claimed they were owed the funding while the Federal Government said theyd missed their opportunity to apply for the scheme. The Metro Tunnel project was originally penned as the recipient of the recycling scheme funds. The plans were abandoned after the State and Federal Governments couldnt come to an agreement on the terms of the project. Both the Federal and State Governments have claimed victory on the announcement of the funding. Caption Text: Changes: Long overdue upgrades to the North East Line have been welcomed by residents. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.