The acting CEO of V/Line Gary Liddle and Nick Foa, Head of Transport Services at the Department of Transport, fronted the media on Thursday morning with an update about the railway crossing, which has remained closed since a late night railway crash on May 30.

Both men, however, appeared to have little to share for the update, apart from a meeting that took place last night with the City of Ballarat, which they described as positive and productive.

HAVE YOUR SAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE

The crossing remains closed nine and a half months on, and neither was able to offer any detailed information on when the gates would be permanently reinstated.

They were also unable to give any clarification about any interim solution that would allow one of Ballarat's best known thoroughfares to re-open to traffic.

Both men looked uncomfortable under questioning from local media, and repeatedly referenced the complexity of the issue.

IN OTHER NEWS

The set of swing gates, the southern part of which was obliterated by the runaway train last May, date back to the Victorian era and form part of the heritage-listed station precinct. When traffic was going through Lydiard Street, they would remain in place across the track then swing 90 degrees to allow trains through in a process overseen in Melbourne.

Mr Liddle said he appreciated the patience of the Ballarat community.

"We absolutely appreciate the community think that has taken longer than it should, but really to emphasise just how complex and unique this area is and the reasons for that delay," he said.

"The key thing is looking at those design options we have been investigating, finalising those design options, but from our point of view safety is always the key thing, but recognising here in Ballarat heritage of the station and the precinct is equally important."

When asked about delays in finding temporary and permanent solutions, Mr Liddle said the organisations were waiting for the publication of a report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

The ATSB released a preliminary accident report on October 6. It found a series of "wheel slip events" on the VLocity train prior to the crash, which injured three people on board.

"We're looking at interim options about what can be done. We can't say the timeframe for those to be implemented but we've devoted all the resources we need to get to the solution as quickly as possible."

He was unable to give any detail on what interim options - which would allow traffic back on the north of Lydiard Street - might be.

"We concentrated on looking at the final solutions," he said. "We've now made a commitment to look at those interim solutions."

The Courier understands there were no interim solutions provided to councillors at the meeting on Wednesday night, and that councillors put pressure on them to provide some.

Mr Liddle said they were committed to giving more regular updates to the community. He said it was yet to be decided how regular those updates would be.

In December he said: "We're very close to making a decision in the new year ... within the first two or three months next year we'll have it absolutely locked away."

Mr Foa said the heritage gates would form part of the eventual solution once detailed designs were finalised. He said the Department of Transport's role was to ensure V/Line had the resources it needed to find a solution.

"Anything we do, interim or permanent, will require us to be in consultation with Heritage Victoria," Mr Foa said. "They will be required to give us a permit to do whatever work is needed."

"The heritage gates will be part of whatever the long-term solution is, whether they are part of the active active mechanism, whether their part is contributory heritage, whether they are part of the interpretative heritage."

"Whatever we do needs to comply with modern safety standards."

A heritage consultant has not yet been appointed, Mr Liddle said. "We have had a heritage advisor looking at the Humffray Street gates, because they are part of the heritage of this precinct as well."

"In discussion with Heritage Victoria, they would prefer a different consultant to that so we are actually in the process of engaging that heritage consultant in this area."

Heritage Victoria is the responsible planning authority for the railway precinct, which is registered as a site of state significance.

Both Mr Liddle and Mr Foa committed to being "more engaged" with the community as the process goes on.

Our team of local journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the Ballarat community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: