There are no updates on the proposed Western Rail Plan upgrade, which could one day see the metropolitan network extended to Melton.
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The plan is examining how to electrify lines to Melton and Wyndham Vale, taking pressure off the V/Line network in high-growth areas - with extra tracks, this could mean Ballarat passengers would avoid several new stations east of Melton, cutting travel times while also adding capacity.
High speed rail to Geelong, which has had $2 billion committed to it from various governments, is also being examined in the plan.
The state government committed $100 million for four years of planning, with another $30 million from last year's federal budget.
At Tuesday's next-generation metropolitan train announcement, Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the WRP is still a "very important project, as is the Suburban Rail Loop and Airport Rail Link", but had no further updates.
"We are still working through the WRP on electrification and a power source, it's still a project the government's very much committed to," he said.
"Alstom's done a lot of work on a battery style variant (of their new train design)."
Acting premier James Merlino denied focus was being pulled from the WRP, and the said the government can "walk and chew gum at the same time" in regard to addressing capacity issues.
Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said the train funding announcement was a good start, but electrification planning is urgently needed as growth continues.
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"We'll keep pressing away at every chance we get to raise the WRP in relation to electrifying to Melton - the next thing for Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong is about commuter times, the time of travel, because we've got frequency, better facilities, more services, but we need to be thinking about the travel times and how we come about that," he said.
"The no brainer is electrification."
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