The Overland funding confirmed for another three years
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| The Victorian Government has committed to funding the Overland passenger train for another three years. This service, currently operated by Journey Beyond, is the only passenger train to regularly pass through the Wimmera, stopping at Dimboola, Nhill, Horsham, Stawell, and Ararat. Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll today confirmed a new $11.5 million three-year agreement to continue funding the service, guaranteeing a future of the twice-weekly service ”We’re continuing our support of the iconic Overland train service – linking Melbourne and Adelaide and other regional towns in between, supporting regional jobs and tourism.The move will support regional jobs and tourism as 2,000 passengers travel by Overland train each month. The service first ran as the Adelaide Express in 1887 before becoming the Overland in 1926. It was originally operated jointly by the Victorian and South Australian Railways and was privatised in 1997. It is currently owned and run by Journey Beyond, which also operates the other iconic Australian passenger trains, The Ghan between Adelaide and Darwin, and The Indian Pacific between Sydney and Perth. Although previously funded jointly by the governments of the two states that it serves, the South Australian government withdrew their contribution in 2020, but have now promised $1.4 million over four years for a facelift for the service. This article also appeared on the Dimboola Courier. |
