Funding of $260 million will be announced in Tuesday's Federal Government budget for the second stage of the Warrnambool rail line upgrade.
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Member for Wannon and federal education minister Dan Tehan said the project would deliver further upgrades to the Warrnambool rail line to complement the $104 million spent during stage one of the works.
The upgrades will include track works to improve the ride quality, reliability and resilience of the line for passenger and freight rail services.
"These works will also assist with the introduction of modern VLocity-class trains onto the Warrnambool rail line and maximise the benefits of the new trains for passengers," Mr Tehan said.
"This is $260m of great news for all those passengers who use the Warrnambool rail line. Getting the line up to speed so it can accommodate VLocity services is something our community has been campaigning for.
"It builds on the $104m the Morrison Government committed for the stage one upgrade and will deliver 640 jobs at a time our economy needs to stimulate job growth."
The MP said the project was expected to support 640 direct and indirect jobs, based on Federal Government estimates.
The expected benefits include:
- Improved passenger rail services,
- Improved connectivity between people with jobs and services, and goods with markets, and
- Improved freight rail services.
The funding involves $208 million of Federal Government money, topped up by a $52 million State Government commitment.
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