- Published:
- Friday 13 November 2015
Rail bridges across regional Victoria will be given unique names to make them easier for emergency services to identify in the event of fire, flood or natural disaster.
Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan, today joined representatives from VicTrack, the State Emergency Service and Bendigo Country Fire Authority at the Huntly rail bridge on Huntly-Fosterville Road, which will be the first to be renamed under the safety initiative.
Currently, many bridges don’t have specific names, with some areas and roads having multiple bridges. This can be confusing for emergency services. Clear, specific names end this confusion, meaning police, ambulance and fire authorities can quickly determine where they need to go and how to get there quickly, when minutes matter.
The new name for the Huntly rail bridge and others across regional Victoria will be chosen through a public naming competition, run by Victorian rail asset owner VicTrack.
People can nominate a name, or names, for the Huntly-Fosterville Road bridge by 31 December 2015 at www.victrack.com.au/bridges(opens in a new window) or by emailing customer.service@victrack.com.au.
Supporting evidence should be provided for all nominations, and people are encouraged to put forward names that are relevant to the local culture and history of the area.
Public nominations must be in accordance with the Guidelines for Geographic Names available at www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/217691/FEB2013-Guidelines-Version-2.pdf(opens in a new window)
Once the names have been shortlisted, the public will be invited to vote for their favourite name on the VicTrack website.
Naming competitions will subsequently be held for other rail bridges and will prioritise those in high-risk areas.
For more information, visit www.victrack.com.au(opens in a new window), email customer.service@victrack.com.au or call 03 9619 8872.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Public Transport and Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan
“Giving our rail bridges clear, unique names will make it easier for emergency services to identify them in the event of fire, flood or natural disaster.”
“It will make it easier for police, ambulance and fire authorities to quickly determine where they need to go when minutes matter, which could save lives.”
“Because rail bridges can be key local landmarks, we want to give the community a chance to name them, so they reflect the local heritage and culture of the area.”
“I encourage people in Bendigo, or anyone with an interest in naming the Huntly bridge, to jump on to the VicTrack website and put forward their suggestion.”