Western Rail Plan

The Western Rail Plan is a proposed metropolitan rail infrastructure project in Melbourne, Australia. The project was initially announced during the 2018 Victorian state election by the State Government. It includes the electrification of two currently existing regional lines to Melton and Wyndham Vale, and other network capacity upgrades.

The electrification to Melton is part of Stage 3 of the PTV Network Development Plan. Staging of the works component of the plan are being developed alongside the business case for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

In 2023, following the cancellation of Geelong Fast Rail, the Victorian Government refuted reports that the project was cancelled, saying instead it was a "work in progress". The plan now places trains on the same tracks as the Regional Rail Link, instead of segregating them.

History
The Western Rail Plan was announced by the Andrews Labor government just over a month before the 2018 state election, as one of a number of rail projects promised during the election campaign. However, one aspect of the plan, high-speed rail to Geelong, had been proposed by the Victorian Liberal Party on 3 October 2018, about two weeks before the Andrews Government revealed its Western Rail Plan.

Plans for electrification were originally developed by Public Transport Victoria in the 2012 Network Development Plan, which suggested that the line to Melton should be electrified within the next 15 years. Wyndham Vale electrification was Stage 4, which meant the project would be undertaken within 20 years. However, in the revised plan, it was added to stage 3.

Six local councils along the Serviceton line, Brimbank, Melton, Moorabool, Ballarat, Ararat and Pyrenees, initiated a campaign for the electrification to Melton in May 2018, around six months before the 2018 state election. Along with electrification, they called for 12 peak-hour electric trains from Melton, and off-peak services every 20 minutes by 2026, as well as 10-car trains and trains every 10 minutes at all non-peak times by 2030. A publication by the City of Brimbank warned that if those measures were not taken, there would be chronic overcrowding.

Planning for electrification to Melton and Wyndham Vale started in mid-2021 and was scheduled to be completed by mid-2023.

Melton electrification
Part of the line between Melton and Deer Park was duplicated during the Regional Rail Revival Project, which made provision for electrification and a future increase in services. Electrification to Melton would potentially triple the carrying capacity of the line, and will allow up to 1500 people to travel on a single train. As part of the electrification, the Melton line would be quadruplicated, to separate regional and metropolitan services. Two level crossings located in Deer Park would be removed to allow trains to run on the line at a higher frequency. There were plans for a station at Mount Atkinson, as well as a station serving the Paynes Road precinct.

Wyndham Vale electrification
The line to Wyndham Vale, connecting with the line to Geelong, was originally built as part of the Regional Rail Link project, including two new stations, Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, opening on 21 June 2015. Since the opening of the two stations there has been patronage growth of 131%. Provision was made for other stations at Truganina, Tarneit West (Sayers Road), Davis Road and Black Forest Road. As with the Melton electrification scheme, quadruplication of the line was proposed, to separate regional and metropolitan services. A link between Wyndham Vale and Werribee was also part of the project, with the potential for that link to become part of the Suburban Rail Loop. Prior to the 2022 Victorian state election, the Andrews Labor Government announced that Tarneit West would be built and planning works for Truganina would begin.

Geelong Fast Rail
The Geelong Fast Rail project was a proposal for high-speed rail to Geelong which came a few years after the completion of the Regional Rail Link, as part of which, the line to Geelong via Wyndham Vale and Tarneit was constructed. The idea involved more frequent and more reliable regional services, dedicated rolling stock capable of speeds around 250-300 km/h, far greater than anything operating in Victoria, and a new transport superhub at Sunshine to facilitate better integration of rail services. The high-speed service would entail a 32-minute journey between Geelong and Melbourne. Daniel Bowen, spokesman for the Public Transport Users Association, said the high-speed train project would boost regional development, and relieve overcrowding and delays on citybound trains from the west. The Andrews state government gave $50 million to develop the business case. The federal government promised to provide $2 billion for the project, provided the Andrews government matched that investment.

In November 2020, the state government agreed to match the funding and both governments announced Stage 1 of Geelong Fast Rail. The works would include:
 * track upgrades between Werribee and Laverton, including a new dedicated express track for Geelong services
 * upgrades to bridges over main roads
 * station upgrades at Werribee and Laverton
 * running some Geelong services via the Werribee rail corridor, which was expected to allow for more trains on the Sunshine rail corridor.

Construction of the first stage Geelong Fast Rail was expected to begin in 2023, and was to be constructed in conjunction with the Geelong line upgrade as part of Regional Rail Revival program.

in November 2023 the Federal Government announced that the funding for the Geelong Fast Rail project would be cut which caused the project to be cancelled.

Analysis and criticism
The primary aim of the Western Rail Plan is to deal with the significant demand on the growing western corridor, which had been growing exponentially over the previous decade, particularly following the completion of the Regional Rail Link, which provided a route into the City for passengers from the growing outer western suburbs such as Tarneit and Wyndham Vale, who had previously had little or no public transport. The project aims to solve that problem by electrifying the lines to Melton and Wyndham Vale to take pressure off crowded regional trains, along with high-speed rail to Geelong cutting down travel times between Geelong and the CBD. The project was welcomed by local councils along the lines affected, as well as public transport advocates such as the Rail Futures Institute and the Public Transport Users Association.

However, the project has been criticised for its slow pace, with some saying the projected 2032 completion date was too far into the future. Geelong and Wyndham councils were concerned that they would be under-served if new suburban services have to share tracks with trains on the Melbourne Airport rail link. There was also concern that the growing community of Bacchus Marsh would not be included in the electrification proposals. The president of the Rail Futures Institute, John Hearsch, said electrification beyond Melton would be necessary to properly serve the growing populations of Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh.