reopening the south gippsland railway line as far as leongatha continues to be a prominent issue in the region. a south gippsland shire council priority projects document, released in june 2013, acknowledged that the return of a rail service was a major community priority, with funding and support sought from all levels of government. in early 2014, a report into possible extensions of the melbourne metropolitan rail system identified the population growth corridor from cranbourne to koo-wee-rup, along the disused leongatha line, as a key planning priority. the south and west gippsland transport group, a public transport and rail lobby group, established in april 2011, which is closely associated with the south gippsland shire council and other local government bodies, has campaigned for an integrated transport plan in the region, which includes rail at the forefront of the proposal. the group had been known as the south gippsland transport users group and had amalgamated with numerous rail lobby groups in 1994 shortly after the rail passenger service to leongatha was withdrawn in july 1993. one notable milestone for the group was running a successful campaign that saw passenger rail services reinstated to leongatha on december 9, 1984. despite the promise to revive the railway line for freight and passenger services by the bracks labor government in 1999 being abandoned by his successor john brumby in 2008, a community campaign involving the south and west gippsland transport group continued to lobby, in collaboration with key stakeholders and governments, to achieve the reinstatement of rail services, and the improvement of transport accessibility in the region.