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Original adjournment matter from Juliana Addison MP to Parliament –

I direct my adjournment matter to the Minister for Public Transport, and the action I seek is for him to provide me with an update on the release of the report into the incident that resulted in the significant damage to the heritage railway gates by a Wendouree-bound VLocity train at the Ballarat Railway Station on 30 May 2020.

This incident subsequently caused the temporary and indefinite closure of Lydiard Street North, Ballarat, a key thoroughfare for our northern suburbs to access our CBD.

The future of the heritage gates is an issue of great interest to many Ballarat residents, as is the reopening of Lydiard Street North at the railway crossing.

I look forward to being updated by the Minister for Public Transport on this most important matter for the Ballarat community.

Response from the Hon Ben Carroll MP, Minister for PublicTransport Minister for Roads and Road Safety (22nd January 2021) –

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is currently undertaking an investigation into the collision of a passenger train with the level crossing gates at Lydiard St North, Ballarat, Victoria on 30 May 2020.

ATSB has released a preliminary investigation report into this occurrence on 6 October 2020. This ATSB investigation is currently ongoing, and therefore is not appropriate to speculate on the cause. The final investigation is not expected to be released until later this year.

We are still working through options for the future of the crossing. This is an extremely complex process but we are working hard to determine the safest option, with consideration of the heritage nature of the gates and precinct.

In the meantime, V/Line and the Department of Transport are working together to implement improvements to ensure the safety of our services. Our number one priority remains safety for passengers, staff and the Ballarat community. This has included completing fleet wide testing of the VLocity train fleet and undertaking remedial actions where required.