Horsham Yard to close

The Horsham Mill street freight yard is to close for ever in November. Both Vic Track and ARTC have said that no further terminal leases will be give, allowing for the terminal to close. The then could be purchased by the Horsham Regional Council. The North Horsham residence are happy, as
according to the Wimmera Times.
"Horsham North Residents Committee has been lobbying the state and federal governments to decommission the site for 10 months.
Secretary Rae Nelson said the committee had wanted written confirmation from both VicTrack and the Australian Rail Track Corporation that the site would not be used as a freight terminal after October 31.
"This is what we have been working towards and now we have it," she said.
"To have a commercial enterprise removed from a residential area will be a big relief.
"The residents in close vicinity to the terminal will be free from the noise and dust and have a bit of normalcy again."
To put some geography on the situation; housing only makes up half of Mill street behind the terminal. On the rest of the land are Fuel depots, of which BP and Mobil are still very much in operation.
The Council  has a  aim  to remove the rail corridor altogether from Horsham. On one hand, it is requesting a return to rail passenger operations to the city, and on the other, a total removal of rail in the future. The proposed ARTC Horsham bypass, connects Dimboola with Murtoa.

The Wimmera Mail Times 18/9/2013

RELOCATION of the Melbourne-Adelaide rail corridor in Horsham could cost up to $99 million. 
A Horsham Rail Bypass Planning Report by consultants Aurecon has revealed the project would cost about $79 million if roads bridged the bypass route. 
It would cost about $99 million if the road crossings passed under the bypass, which could save up to five minutes in travel time.
The study included a new passenger railway station and estimated clean-up work on the contaminated rail corridor would cost up to $19 million. 
The report also found a potential $20-million saving for the Western Highway bypass if the rail bypass was completed before or at the same time as the road bypass. 
But Horsham Rural City Council chief executive Peter Brown said moving the railway could take up to 30 years. 
He said the report did not recommend any bypass routes.
“Before we could make a judgment we would really need to see where the Western Highway bypass lands and then we should give thought on whether further work should be done on the rail bypass,” he said. 
“The selection of the routes in the report was purely for costing purposes and there has been no work done on where we might actually put the route.”
Council decided to focus on improving passenger rail and the existing rail corridor, rather than working on its relocation at a meeting on Monday night. 
The move coincided with the release of the Horsham North Urban Design Framework, which found the rail corridor separated the neighbourhood from the rest of Horsham.