Benallas John Dennis is passionate about railways and the Labor Party. As a retired railway signal and communication supervisor with more than 40 years experience in the industry, Mr Dennis has proposed that if the Upfield line was rehabilitated and opened, the line could wipe as much as half an hour off the trip in to Southern Cross from the states north- east on the line continuously troubled by delays and coach substitutions. Mr Dennis has lobbied Labors candidate for Indi, Eric Kerr, to support his proposal. Whilst this is only about exploring options, it forms part of the greater conversation that continues on rail in the region, Mr Kerr said. Mr Dennis based his proposal on his own independent research and there is yet no further examination into the proposal. Our rail service in the northeast has been a burning issue for a very long time now and the problem is not restricted to one thing, and so we must look at all avenues available to improve the service. I am only too happy to hear from the community on new ways to tackle rail issues, and will continue advocating for the best possible rail service for our region, one which we have been denied for far too long. Mr Kerr said in recent weeks Labor Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes announced the Andrews Government was converting an existing V/Line locomotive to standard gauge, taking the number of locomotives to four. In the event of an accident or fault, this would work to prevent the service being substituted for coaches. The extra locomotive should be available by the end of July. PROPOSED RE-OPENING OF OLD TRAIN ROUTE Caption Text: Changing tracks: The endorsed Labor Candidate for the Federal Seat of Indi, Eric Kerr, is shown part of the old disused SomertonUpfield line by John Dennis.