IT’S full steam ahead for the Regional Rail Link, with state and federal governments unveiling a $47 million contract for the final phase of works.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Ted Baillieu turned the first sod at the construction site in Wyndham Vale on Friday.
The $5.3billion rail line’s sixth stage, the Deer Park-West Werribee junction, will have an overpass above existing tracks and allow the separation of tracks between the Werribee and Geelong lines west of Melbourne.
But hopes hang in the balance for the proposed east-west link to connect the Eastern Freeway with the Western Ring Road, after the federal government failed to commit funding in its 2012-13 budget.
Mr Baillieu called on the federal government to chip in for the 18-kilometre road connection. “These projects are big projects and they can’t proceed without Commonwealth support,” he said.
Ms Gillard said her government continually assessed projects through Infrastructure Australia but warned the supply of available money wasn’t “endless”.
The Regional Rail Link, due for completion by 2016, will provide a quicker V/Line link to the Melbourne CBD and Geelong, freeing up track space on the Werribee line.
Ms Gillard said the project would give Wyndham residents better access to public transport.
“This is an amazing growth corridor where so many people come to make their lives, to buy their first homes, to have their families,” she said.
“This project will be a revolution in services for people in Melbourne’s west.”
