SPIRALLING construction costs are holding back the removal of dangerous level crossings from Victorian roads, Premier Ted Baillieu says, following a fatal crash in suburban Melbourne.
One man is dead and 13 people remain in hospital after Saturday's crash in Dandenong South in which a truck went through the boom gates at a crossing.
The crash has intensified calls to remove the 170 level crossings in Melbourne, while there are 1900 across Victoria.
Mr Baillieu said the government would like to remove all level crossings in the state, but the costs would be prohibitive.
"If a grade separation is costing $200 to $250 million, there's obviously a limit as to how many of those we can do," Mr Baillieu told reporters on Monday.
"We'd all love to have level crossings eliminated ... but we have to be realistic about it. We have put the funds in to increase the number of grade separations and to increase the number of level crossings that are being upgraded."
Mr Baillieu said the government had funded five grade separations and had more than 50 upgrades planned across country Victoria.
But he repeated his call for a "fully independent productivity commission national inquiry into construction costs" which he says are limiting the ability to invest in major infrastructure projects such as grade separations at level crossings.
Police are seeking further details about incidents just before a white Western Star prime mover and the train collided at 11.42am (AEDT) on Saturday.
Police want particularly to speak with passengers who left the scene after the crash and the driver of a truck believed to have overtaken the Western Star truck shortly before impact.
"There was a white Kenworth cab-over prime mover with white curtain covering a semi-trailer that was seen crossing the railway intersection just prior to the collision," Inspector Bernie Rankin told reporters on Monday.
He said the driver of the Kenworth truck may have significant evidence that could assist police.
The premier said the Dandenong South crossing had protection measures, including boom gates, bells, lights and traffic lights, but the government would wait for a full police assessment of the accident before considering how to act.
Police also want to speak to anyone who may have seen the driver of the Western Star truck as it travelled on the South Gippsland Freeway or Abbott Road just before the crash.
Killed in the crash was a 43-year-old Cranbourne West man, who was found trapped under rubble in the front carriage.
The 30-year-old train driver was trapped in his crumpled cabin for an hour before paramedics could take him to hospital. He remains in The Alfred hospital in a serious condition.
The truck driver, a 69-year-old Narre Warren man, was interviewed and released pending further inquiries.
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