NCA welcomes Coalition election commitment to fund Upfield Rail Line Scoping Report

The Northern Councils Alliance (NCA) welcomes today’s Coalition announcement of an election commitment of $2 million to spearhead critical improvements to the Upfield rail line.  

L>R: Cr. John Dumaresq, Mayor of Nillumbik, Cr. Helen Davidson, Chair of the NCA and Mayor of Merri-bek City Council, Jason McClintock, Liberal Candidate for McEwen, Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. Cr Bob Cornish, Deputy Mayor, Mitchell Shire Council and Cr. Jarrod Bell, Mayor of Hume City Council.

The election commitment is funding for a scoping report that will plan for the duplication, electrification, and extension of the Upfield Line to Wallan.

Servicing the people of Merri-bek and Hume, the Upfield Line has one of the least frequent peak period services in Melbourne’s rail network and is plagued by delays and cancellations.

Further north, many residents in our growth communities in Mitchell, Whittlesea and Hume are currently only serviced by diesel V/Line services, which are nearing capacity earlier than expected, with no provision of services to the future city of Cloverton.

The NCA has been calling for key rail investments to resolve the critical contracts of train services in our region. 

We are very pleased to support this announcement. Urgent investment is needed to provide more trains more often and a better experience for every passenger, and to meet the needs of our northern communities.

More information is available via our media release below

NCA Media release - Announcement by Federal Opposition - Upfield Rail Line - Scoping Stud.

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