Most Ballarat commuters are well aware that the number one priority they want  fixed is simple reliability and punctuality. The $518 million invested by the State Government will go a long way in helping this by introducing passing lanes to make delays less like a concertina disaster. Similarly though itself a decade long project, the Metro Rail tunnel will help untangle the inexorable spaghetti that is the convergence point of the City Loop and Melbourne CBD.  This will add valuable open tracks and shave precious minutes off the commute. Continued investment in rolling stock will help ensure the ride is a comfortable and not overcrowded one. But for how long?

Growth is the constantly stalking nemesis of even these shorter term objectives. The highest priority to meet it long term is duplication; independent duplication all the way to Southern Cross meaning quadruplication and electrification of the line to at least Melton. The work, let alone its completion, may be a decade away but the steps toward it now are a must.

Alongside these critical pieces in securing Ballarat’s connectivity, Rail Futures are presenting, some fascinating ideas that have as their source idea, a massively grown state by 2050 that must rely more on its regional cities to cater than a congested and sprawling metropolis. The answer for efficiency and speed must be rail.

Their ideas include the intriguing railway connection on the regional line to Tullamarine airport. Not only does this interconnect a city to airport link with a whole state, utilising existing railway reserves but it also has the only adequate growth capacity to handle that traffic for the ballooning decades to come. The report’s authors are to be commended for the great leap of their thinking into decades hence.  Alongside this are ideas that seem simply practical, such as the use of new middle carriages adding to the flexibility and capacity of the existing velocity fleet or car parking expansion.

The gap between these ideas and their reality in helping to make Ballarat the great inland capital of Victoria in 2050 are well worth thinking about.