NEWS - Transport & Logistics 9:01 PM, 11 May 2010| More BUDGET 2010: More money in budget for railways
AAP
Motorists should see fewer heavily-laden trucks as the federal government splurges on freight railways.
Almost a billion dollars is to be spent upgrading railways from Queensland through New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria and into South Australia.
The government says the money, to be spent on the publicly-owned Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), will boost the economy and create more than 1500 jobs.
Projects to be funded include $170 million to straighten the line between Maitland and the Queensland border, more passing loops around the NSW towns of Goulburn and Moss Vale, and $565 million for rerailing the line and new sleepers around Broken Hill.
The government will spend $110 million re-railing the line between Albury, Melbourne and Geelong.
All up, the ARTC network skirts just south of Brisbane down to Sydney, and drops down to Melbourne and Portland, while another line heads west to Port Augusta and Whyalla in South Australia.
The money means faster transit times and heavier loads on the freight railway, the government says.
The budget has also set up a $5.6 billion, ten-year infrastructure fund for roads, rail and ports. The fund will start out with $700 million and build over time.
It appears to be weighted towards the mining boom states of Western Australia and Queensland.
"Funding will be distributed in a way which recognises that resource-rich states face large associated infrastructure demands," the budget says.
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