21 Mar 2018 Yarrawonga Chronicle, Yarrawonga VIC (General News) Labor Upper House Member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes, said the North-East Corridor Upgrade would improve service reliability and resilience to deliver more frequent and reliable train services. As part of the Regional Rail Revival program, a joint Victorian Government and Commonwealth Government steering committee was established to look at the work needed to upgrade the North East Line. The steering committee resolved that the $100 million committed was not enough to upgrade the track to run new modern trains, therefore the Commonwealth Government will contribute an additional $135 million to upgrade the track to at least a class 2 standard. Ms Symes said design work is already underway on modifications necessary to run VLocity trains on the North East line, to inform a future train order to replace the ageing classic fleet carriages. These upgrades will also enable faster running times for the twice-daily service between Sydney and Melbourne. Wallan and Donnybrook stations will be upgraded as part of the works. Other improvements as part of the NorthEast Corridor Upgrade include enabling works to run modern trains, and funding to plan the Shepparton freight network upgrade. The $1.57 billion Regional Rail Revival program will create more than 1,000 jobs across the state, boost local economies and deliver opportunities for suppliers. It will also develop industry skills and ensure local content through the Andrews Labor Governments Local Jobs First Victorian Industry Participation Policy. At least 10 per cent of the programs total work will be completed by apprentices, trainees or engineering cadets as part of the Major Project Skills Guarantee. In addition to the Regional Rail Revival program works, the Labor Government is investing in passenger services in the states north east, including $15 million to refurbish and reconfigure the existing trains to provide an extra train in the Albury/Wodonga line fleet, as well as upgrades to 14 level crossings along the line. Detailed design and planning is currently underway on Regional Rail Revival, including the North-East Corridor Upgrade, with early work to commence in the coming months. Were getting on with delivering exactly what north-east passengers need better train services to get them where they need to go, Ms Symes said. Im proud to have been part of the communitys fight for better services and to know that these services will be delivered. After four Federal Infrastructure Ministers we finally got there and this upgrade will deliver better train services to get passengers to their destination sooner whether thats to work, school, medical appointments or to visit family and friends. More information about the Regional Rail Revival program is available at regionalrailrevival.vic.gov.au. Caption Text: A multimillion-dollar upgrade to train services in Victorias north-east can now begin as part of the $1.57 billion Regional Rail Revival funding.Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence