A couple of points for consideration..........

The rail network has been underfunded for many years its not any single parties fault.

Everyone wants service improvements, but seem to think someone else should pay for them. It may come as a surprise to many but the world does not work that way.

Going by comments in these pages a lot of people think railways need to pay there way but roads should get a free ride, that is a recipe for disaster in this day and age.

The current government is committed to replacing good number of level crossings, the total cost of which is significant. I have the strong impression that a lot of people even on Railpage do NOT understand how criticaly important this actual is.

Another extremely important issue that appears to be little understood is the networks core no longer has any free time slots for services, BEFORE anything else is done, even something is crtical as the Dandenong line. the network core MUST be fixed first and no matter what is done it will cost a fortune, the government does have a plan for this, but see item 2......................

woodford

Totally agree. WE must fix the existing network before adding an expensive boondoogle to it.

Michael

boondoogle?  mmmm Have to work on that one...................

With some 17 grade crossings on the existing reservation need to be dealt with and going by the costs associated with current projects in removing these I cannot see that this will get off the ground in our lifetime.

Is this in reference to the Drysdale re-opening which I believe will happen sooner than later 10 years or less.

With some 17 grade crossings on the existing reservation need to be dealt with and going by the costs associated with current projects in removing these I cannot see that this will get off the ground in our lifetime.

Is this in reference to the Drysdale re-opening which I believe will happen sooner than later 10 years or less.

You think Drysdale railway line will reopen in less than 10 years???
Are the public transport buses between Drysdale and Geelong full on a regular basis? I doubt it very much.
I am confident you have no evidence at all to support your theory, you appear to be living in dream land.

The case strengthen for the Andrews government being re-elected on the criteria as defined by Bevans...

However being safe Labor seats, their vote or majority wont increase.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/longplanned-melton-rail-line-upgrade-being-pushed-for-next-state-budget-20160224-gn2du0.html

Mike.

I don't waste my time voting for any of them as nothing major will ever be done, whether it's under Labor or Liberal. I seriously doubt the Greens would ever get up either, if they did win they'd probably sit there scratching their asre wondering what on earth to do. Either way they won't win because the results are always rigged at 50-something to 40-something with either one of the Ls winning with the other coming a very close second with the Greens a distant third (because no-one ever votes for anything besides Liberal or Labor). Better off drawing Big Richard on the ballot form and walking out in ten seconds flat.

Whilst Ive read the various posts, I'd say this question will be able to be better answered after the May budget has been announced and we get a better idea of how the states finances are tracking and what they seriously intend to spend their money on the next few years going forward.  The issues of the Port of Melbourne sale, v/Line meltdown etc are clouding the waters at the moment.  If we see funds actually being allocated in the budget for real spending in the next 2 to 3 years we might getter a better sense of how they are tracking

I don't believe rail to Drysdale is in the short to medium term, despite Bevan's beliefs. Neither is electrification to Stony Point. I also don't think passenger rail beyond Ararat is likely in that time frame (apart from the Overland of course). This will not change regardless of who is occupying No 1 Treasury Place.

Don't forget, we have fixed 4 year terms in Victoria, the next state election is locked in for November 2018.

By the time we get near the 2018 election, Melbourne Metro will be well underway (construction is due to start early 2018), the controversial Skyrail project will be completed, meaning voters will be able to vote on the result of the project, rather than Matthew Guy's fear campaign, The Western Distributor (Road project) will be underway, the Tulla FWY will have been upgraded, and numerous other level crossings will be complete. Grade Seperation of the Mildura line, and related lines may not be complete, but won't be far off by then. The current VLP wheel wear issue will be a distant memory, and with any luck there will be other transport projects that have either been started or at the very least announced.

The reality is that most people don't vote on one particular issue. Transport is a major issue, but as long as considerable work is being done (which it seems it will be) then that is not a major issue of concern. Most people will be more concerned with Police numbers, Education, whether or not the EBA dispute with the firefighters has been sorted (has been going for over 1000 days now, that is a disgrace) and the very contentious AFL Grand Final Friday Holiday, these are issues most people will be thinking of when they cast their vote in 2018, not whether or not they can ride a train to the Stawell Gift.

Just on community rankings.   The top 4 issues consistently rated are Education, health, safety/security (crime) and public transport.  Heading into the last 2 state elections PT ranked as the number 2 issue.   The real dilemma for every Government is those 4 areas are huge sink holes when it comes to funding.  As much as you invest the issue still ranks highly and each area is a priority for just about everyone in the community.

Just on community rankings.   The top 4 issues consistently rated are Education, health, safety/security (crime) and public transport.  Heading into the last 2 state elections PT ranked as the number 2 issue.   The real dilemma for every Government is those 4 areas are huge sink holes when it comes to funding.  As much as you invest the issue still ranks highly and each area is a priority for just about everyone in the community.

Aside from Welfare, there isn't much else that a Government really does, so it makes sense those are the four top areas.

A political argument for the Melton duplication is so that Ballarat commuters can retain their service quality, and hopefully allow more services as far as Melton or Bacchus Marsh so Ballarat trains aren't filled up with Melton and Caroline Springs passengers.  Any further increase in Melton services would risk reliability of the current Ballarat services because of constraints on the single track.  How ready is V/Line for the new passengers from Caroline Springs, particularly if patronage takes off like Tarneit ?

Assuming that the people who matter in marginal electorates will vote on the issue of PT alone and bearing in mind that 90% of voters have already made up their mind despite what happens, they are more than likely to look at recent events and current political campaigns, and by current, I mean current in the run up to the election. Labor is diligently implementing their stated policies. The OP criticised them for not doing things they did not promise. A bit harsh, since the other main party didn't promise them either. No doubt Labor will contrast their keeping of promises with the Baillieu/Napthine government's litany of broken promises. As far as transport is concerned they broke every promise, including a promise not to build the EWL, made by Terry Mulder a few days before the 2010 election. Will then, any promises from the Libs in the lead up to the 2018 election have any credibility?

The current V/Line problems will be resolved in a few months and will be a distant memory in 2018. If Labor learns the lesson that they need to increase maintenance funding with more use, then there should not be a re-occurrence. Blaming your predecessor for cutting funding only goes so far if you don't fix the problem. A new CEO will help.

If a government does nothing, there is very little chance that it will be over budget or delayed. There are no unforeseen problems with nothing projects. Only Labor has undertaken any sort of of PT expansion project in the last 40 years, and there will always be criticism - it's too big, too small, too expensive, too cheap, too tall, too susceptible to flooding, etc.  You have to go back to the Hamer government in the early 70s for PT expenditure of any significance. The City Loop was built with increased property taxes and loans. Imagine if Labor tried to do that today. Well, unless Turnbull grows a spine, they may have to. Even without migration, our population will double in the next fifty years. Rail lines take at least twenty years from conception to opening. Unless the Libs suffer a conversion on the way to Dandenong, any subsequent flirtation with them will simply put back everything, including the OP's wish list, by at least 4 years. Maybe a few heavy electoral defeats might persuade them to change.

Getting back to the original question .

Andrews came to Office promising  :

50 lx grade separated within two terms .  Well on the way to achieving 20 + in first term.
Ordered extra  Xtraps from Ballarat . On the way
Ordered extra VL  sets. Start delivery later this year.
Start on Melbourne  Metro .  Preparatory works under way $ 1.5 allocated so far.
Extend Metro from South Morang to Mernda .  Tenders called for construction last week .
Extra trams . in delivery .  

Committed since to :

HCMT  Trains for Dandenong line . In tender process.
North West standardization . Committed $ 220m  Stage 1 underway and concrete sleeper order for Stage 2 placed.

So everything promised is actioned and underway.  Some new initiatives.

We await State Budget in May where Minister PT has indicated there will be several new PT  projects funded .

So have they done enough ? In relation to what they promised  YES.
Future needs, we have to wait and see .

The State Government has committed $10m for infrastructure funding to support development of the Gippsland Logistics Precinct at Morwell East (formerly known as GIFT). There is diligent work happening behind the scenes to progress the development, for which several volumes could be written in a history back to the late 1990s. It should be noted that we now have a proactive rail operator in Qube, who services the AP Maryvale intermodal business and Government cash to make it happen. This was not the case in 2013/14 when Latrobe City Council did market testing with no government funding at all.

I believe the intention of Qube now is to expand their use of the Maryvale siding to turn it into an intermodal facility, rather than using the former GIFT sidings.