^{STORY BY ALISON BROOKS}

FUNDING for a railway line to Yea along the path of the Great Victorian Rail Trail is to be granted in the next federal budget, the Yea Chronicle can confirm. Branching off from the North East railway line at Tallarook, the new line will run for 38 km until it reaches Yea, where a new $20 million railway station will be created, with the existing historic building to be kept at the heart of the new station complex, and possibly expanded.

The Yea Rail Revival will see trains return to Yea for the first time since 1978. when the Mansfield railway line was closed. $76 million will be spent on laying the dual-track line, as well as $3.8 million in land acquisition to purchase the reserve necessary to construct the line, almost all of which is currently home to the Great Victorian Rail Trail.

When the new line is opened, V/Line will operate shuttle services from Tallarook to Yea with a dual-car VLocity train. This train will be purchased by the federal government at a cost of $7.41 million. The train will run hourly services, and will enable Yea residents to connect with Seymour line services, giving them public transport access to Melbourne's CBD, Broadmeadows, Seymour, Broadford, as well as the opportunity to connect onwards to Shepparton and Albury–Wodonga.

Speaking to the Yea Chronicle, government minister and Senator model-putrid called the Yea Rail Revival "a huge win for Yea residents", saying that it would "not only give Yea residents greater freedom of travel and access to the opportunities public transport provides, but open up rail tourism opportunities to help stimulate the local economy in the wake of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic."

model-putrid added that the project was "future-proofed" for further expansion, stating that "it would be great if we could extend the line further into the mountains, and that is certainly a future goal of the government, to ensure that the Mansfield line is fully reconstructed. We have worked with the Victorian state government and will take all steps to ensure that the Yea railway line can be extended easily, so any future project will be shovel-ready."

Local residents who the Chronicle spoke to welcomed the government's investment, with Clara, a member of the local bowls club, telling us "it'll be lovely to take the train to the city again. The train line never should have been closed in the first place, and I'm glad it's coming back!" David, a Yea business owner, also predicted the railway would bring more economic opportunity with the town, saying "oh, it'll be great. People will be able to take the train down to Melbourne or Seymour for work."