Lobbying hard for the North East rail line to be fixed in a timely fashion, and for far more investment in transport in regional Australia 

To view my commitments to this area, please click here

Actions

• Tabled a motion in the Parliament calling the government to ensure ensure passenger services are considered core business for the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC).
  
  
• Tabled a Private Members Bill in Parliament that provides for infrastructure decisions including rail to take into account the social benefit for rural and regional Australia. Read the speech or watch the video on the Infrastructure Australia Amendment (Social Sustainability) Bill 2017
  
  
• Met with Federal Minister Darren Chester in October 2016 about service failures on the North East Line. Minister Chester has committed to travel the North East line to see firsthand the situation.

• Raised public safety concerns regarding trains on the North East Line to the Minister for Infrastructure, the Hon Warren Truss MP, and the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). On 10 November 2015 the Minister responded referring to ongoing maintenance following the Ballast Rehabilitation Program and the work of the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator.

• Keeping the focus on Federal and State Governments to implement the High Speed Rail project

• High Speed Rail has the potential to transform regional Australia. Cathy explains how this nation-building project will benefit Indi and help grow regional centres

• Met with Victorian Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan in October 2015 and called on Victorian Government to work in cooperation with the Federal Government to address the long-term sustainability issues on the North East Rail line

• Called on Federal Government to fund a business case for new V/Line rollingstock on the northern line, medical patients in the North East deserve a better standard of train service

• Secured commitment with Public Transport Victoria (PTV) in February 2015 for community consultation to be included in the formulation of the Regional Network Development Plan. In November 2015, PTV released the latest conversation report into regional public transport issues. Download it here

• Met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, and Dr Sharman Stone, Federal MP for Murray, to seek solutions for the rail service in northern Victoria

• Commitment to completion of Ballast Rehabilitation Program and the removal of speed restrictions mid 2016

• Commitment to a Public Transport Victoria draft Regional Network Development Plan in six months. Plan includes timelines, rolling stock, scheduling, timetable, freight, long-term planning, funding

• Partnership with all levels of Government; on February 5, met with Premier Daniel Andrews, V/Line senior management, Public Transport Victoria, Public Transport Users Association

• Regular meetings with Minister for Infrastructure, Warren Truss

• Train trip to Melbourne with Member for Murray, the Hon Dr Sharman Stone and Border Rail Action Group. Survey results presented to V/Line on February 5

• Secured a commitment from the Government that the Melbourne to Albury rail line will be fixed by December 2016 at the latest, with the bulk of work to be completed by March 2016

• Held public forums with the head of the Australian Rail Track Corporation, the Commonwealth agency responsible for the Melbourne to Albury rail line, and V/Line

• Spoke in Parliament to demand the Government prioritise fixing the Melbourne to Albury rail line, plan and invest in all forms of public transport for regional Australia, and get serious about high speed rail

• Asked the Government whether trains between Seymour and Albury will run as fast as other parts of the rail network once the repair works are complete in 2016

• Met with the Victorian Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder MP, and represented to the Victorian Government the increasingly urgent need to replace aging V/Line trains on the Melbourne to Albury line

• Asked the State and Federal Governments to respond to complaints from Indi residents about interruptions, delays and cancellations of train services

• Called for bipartisan support to deliver High Speed Rail to link the east coast metropolitan cities and provide major boosts to regional centres like Albury-Wodonga

• Supported the work of the community, including the newly formed Border Rail Action Group, to raise the profile of the continuing problems with the North East rail line 

• A win for Indi - if re-elected, the Victorian Coalition to invest in the Melbourne to Albury train service