The City of Geelong has been promised major upgrades to their train services, with a $736 million plan put forward pending a Labor win in the State election this November.

The proposed transformation will allow for extra services and the removal of level crossings in the surrounding area. In addition to this, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has also put forward a plan to develop a new station at Armstrong Creek.

A projected $147 million will be coughed up by the Andrews Government, with an extra $589 million sourced from the Commonwealth through rail funds.

The funding will allow for an 11km track duplication of the Geelong V/Line service, which will take place between the stations of South Geelong and Waurn Ponds.

Upgrades to this regional service will largely affect passengers travelling between Waurn Ponds and Melbourne, meaning trains can run every 10 minutes during peak periods, and allow for many more services throughout the working week.

The State Government’s pledge will see the removal of level crossings at the Surf Coast Highway and on Fyans Street in South Geelong, but the overall upgrades to the South Geelong area will be important in removing a 400m long bottleneck.

“Only Labor will finish the job and deliver the massive upgrade the Geelong line needs, giving locals more train services, with boom gates gone for good,” Premier Andrews told the Geelong Advertiser this week.

With the plans put forward, the State Government said the project will begin seeing works in 2020, with an estimated completion by the year 2023. During this time, it is believed that 1300 jobs will be created for workers over the course of the development period.

The proposed commitment will mean improved services for what has been a struggling V/Line service in recent times, which has failed to reach desired punctuality times for 21 months in a row.

Photo: VLocity Waurn Ponds service arriving at South Geelong by Phillip Mallis available here and used under a Creative Commons Attribution.