Again I stress, I'm not suggesting anything as expansive [or expensive] as the MBRP or the Shepp/Echuca lines being converted to SG, merely the 40km from Inglewood into Bendigo, on what is currently an unused line. Linking a city of close to 100,0000, which also happens to be the 4th largest inland city in Australia, [and a greater region of possibly that number as well] to the SG network, by this route seems a very achievable outcome!
I am with you as this project should be considered ]with connections to the customer at Bridgewater.
Again I ask, for what traffic? If there was traffic to be had from that area they would have rebuilt the BG Inglewood line after the washouts, that was back when the MBS project was but a glint in the milkman's eye.
Time and again this idea has been raised but to date no one has come up with any viable reason for the line to be re-opened.
As already stated grain traffic on the Piangil line is minimal and can be handled by night time paths on the BG line. There is no Bendigo Intermodal, no container traffic save some BG containerised hay traffic that Qube have been looking at near Goornong (the difficulty there being access, the plant is on the opposite side of the highway to the rail line) so where is the demand to come from?
Traffic on the line before it was booked out consisted mainly of the Boort Goods and some Bridgewater traffic. Boort will be on the SG network once the Manangatang line is converted so any traffic that is regained by rail would go on the SG via Donald not via Bendigo and as stated numerous times if there was traffic to be had from Bridgewater you would rebuild the Inglewood > Bridgewater section of the line and run back that way to avoid Bendigo altogether.
The recent decision to stop the City of Greater Bendigo compulsory acquiring the Carter family farm for the Marong Business Park means that it will be a VERY long time before there is going to be even the sniff of a need for SG rail access beyond Bridgey.
So long as the reservation is protected for possible future use there is nothing to see here, move on and spend your $$$ someplace where there is traffic to be had.
BG