With the federal budget just one month away, Corangamite MP and government member Sarah Henderson has declared her support for a commonwealth regional rail fund in order to speed up delivery of fast trains to 

“A Commonwealth regional rail fund will bring the state to the negotiating table so that, together, we can plan and fund vital rail upgrades,” Ms Henderson said in a statement.  

The last major investment from the federal government in regional Victorian rail came in the form of the $3.65 billion Regional Rail Link project which aimed take regional services off metro routes, which received $2.7 billion from Canberra.  

State governments have since engaged in at times hostile discussions with the Commonwealth over trains, with then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott telling the states to fund their own commuter rail in 2013. 

Ballarat MP Catherine King again pledged her support for federal passenger rail funding, saying “while growth of our railway network is the responsibility of the state government, they can’t go it alone.”    

Last month a delegation of Ballarat leaders visited Canberra to lobby for major infrastructure spending in the region, with rail high on the city’s priority list. 

City of Ballarat chairman Janet Dore, who was among the delegation, said governments of all persuasions needed to acknowledge the benefits strong regional centres would play in the growth of cities.

She said she was “quietly confident” the federal government would come to the table when the budget is handed down on May 3.  

“It has got to be a 45-minute commute (between Ballarat and Melbourne) and the only way that’s going to happen is with the cooperation between the federal and state governments.” 

Further west eight councils have also added their voice to calls for extra regional rail funding, with the group calling for $369 million to make Ararat a rail hub, linking up with other regional cities such as Horsham and Hamilton.   

Ararat Rural City mayor Paul Hooper said both governments had a responsibility to chip in for big infrastructure projects which would help ease the pressure on Melbourne’s rapidly growing population. 

“Investment in rail infrastructure is an investment for at least 50 years, it’s very expensive to do but if regional Victoria is to grow equitably with the city then it’s needed.” 

In a statement, federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester said while he couldn’t comment on pre-budget speculation, he could “confirm I have had productive meetings on transport issues with state ministers in recent weeks”.