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Another Year Without Trains To The Latrobe Valley?Freedom of information documents released to the Liberal Party show it will be at least June/July 2007 before ‘Farce Rail’ works on the Warragul and Traralgon line are finished. By Terry Mulder - Shadow Minister Transport and Ports - 27th June 2006 - Back to News The push-back means the completion date has been shelved yet again while the government’s total ‘Farce Rail’ project cost has blown out from $80 million to $750 million. And it’s still climbing, with many betting it will pass the $1 billion mark.
The delay shows the Latrobe Valley has been deemed least important again, with the Bracks Government’s ‘Farce Rail’ order of preferences listed below:
1) Geelong line: the home of the Premier Steve Bracks’ beloved AFL team, The Cats;
2) Ballarat line: the home town of Premier Bracks;
3) Bendigo line: the home of two Bracks Government ministers;
4) Latrobe Valley line: the home of the Bracks Government’s most ineffective members.
By the time this service finally makes an appearance in the Latrobe Valley, travelers will have forgotten what it felt like to have a passenger-carrying train. Given the Bracks Government’s history of bungling major project deadlines, train travelers can rightfully expect even further delays beyond the June/July 2007 deadline.
As recently as 22 December 2005, Steve Bracks and his hapless Minister for Transport, Peter Batchelor, were falsely crowing in a media release that V/Line’s V’Locity trains would be operating at their planned top speed of 160kph by mid-2006. That date had been revised from the original target date of 30 June 2005 for all four projects.
The State Labor Government’s mismanagement of the contract has led to these continuing delays, with Labor putting the Latrobe Valley last. Under "political pressure", contractors were moved to the Bendigo Line at the expense of the Latrobe Valley to ensure the works on the Bendigo Line were brought forward.
The Labor Government’s proposed Latrobe Valley "Early Bird Express Service" that was designed to leave Traralgon at 4.30am and bypass Morwell, Moe and Warragul, has vanished like a meteorite in the night sky.
Local Labor Members Brendan Jenkins and Ian Maxfield have failed to fight for their electorates and allowed the Latrobe Valley to be relegated to "The Last Farce Rail Project" to be completed. They should hang their heads in shame for not standing up for their electorates.
The Government’s Mock Opening ceremonies at the other three Farce Rail lines, complete with ribbon cutting and back slapping, have been followed by further shutdowns, breakdowns, train cancellations and buses.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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