The Victorian Government has pledged to order 170 new trains and rail cars for the state’s rail network if it wins this month’s election.

It said the $4 billion investment would be the biggest order of rolling stock in 30 years and deliver 75 new trains, 75 new trams and 24 rail cars for the V/Line network.

It also said the plan would create 3,500 new jobs.

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The Labor Party has promised to buy 30 new trains and 20 carriages from Victorian-based manufacturers.

Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said the plan would build on an existing order of new trains and trams.

“From July next year, you’ll see a new train each and every month over the next 10 years,” Mr Mulder said.

“It’s going to be an enormous boost and it gives continuity to the manufacturing sector.”

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine (L) and Minister for Transport Terry Mulder. Photo: AAP

Mr Mulder said it would mean the transport system would be able to cater for 150,000 more people a day.

“We’ll be delivering a new train on the network every month from July next year.

“It’s going to be an enormous boost.”

Labor Party spokesman Martin Pakula said the plan would create havoc if it was not paired with a promise to remove level crossings.

“If you try to run more trains up and down the lines without removing the level crossings, you have boom gates that never go up and if you don’t duplicate the city loop all of the trains come to a pinch point at the centre of the network.”

The Australian Industry Group welcomed the commitment from the Napthine Government.

Its Victorian director Tim Piper said the commitments are a significant vote of confidence in Victoria’s manufacturers.

“What it does mean is that company’s have security, they’ve got long term contracts, they’ve got long term contracts, they can get the skills they need,” Mr Piper said.

“They can put them the investment into machinery that they need and really it just means that they’ve got a long-term future that they weren’t certain of before.”

Promises for families, youth jobs at campaign launch

The announcement came as the Coalition officially launched its election campaign, with promises on transport and employment, and sweeteners for young families.

Hundreds of Liberal Party members gathered in the key election battleground of Ballarat to hear Premier Denis Napthine outline his pitch for re-election.

Kindergartens will be more affordable under the Liberal Party, says Denis Napthine. Photo: AAP

In a pitch to families, Dr Napthine promised a $100 rebate for every family with a child in kindergarten.

The initiative will cost $23 million over four years and will not be means tested.

“This makes kindergarten more affordable for all families, so that more children can access our great kindergarten program,” Dr Napthine said.

He said 200,000 families are expected to benefit from the initiative.

Dr Napthine also promised $78 million over four years to put primary welfare officers in every state school.

“These primary welfare officers are absolutely vital in making sure young people get the best start in their educational life.”

There was also a promise of a $75 million initiative to help long-term unemployed youth, offering employers who take them on a $2,000 voucher.

It will be available to businesses who hire people aged under 24 who have been employed for more than six months.

But Labor said investment in TAFE was needed to deal with youth unemployment.

“If that’s Denis Napthine’s vision for Victoria, it leaves a lot to be desired,” Mr Pakula said.

“You can’t fix youth unemployment if you don’t invest in TAFE… and if they believe they can fix youth unemployment without fixing TAFE, I think they’re delusional.”

$100m pledged for regional cities fund

The Coalition has also promised $100 million for a regional cities fund, to pay for infrastructure and CBD development, in a bid to encourage more people to move to Victoria’s regional cities.

During his speech, Dr Napthine spruiked the Coalition’s economic management skills.

“My Government has built a strong Victorian economy and we can be trusted to continue to deliver a secure, stable, strong economy into the future,” he said.

“This stronger economy provides a basis for the government to create 200,000 new jobs over the next five years, provides a basis to deliver better services to Victorian families and to look after the interests of all Victorians.”

Dr Napthine also used his speech to attack Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party’s record in Government.

“[It is] a Labor Party that has a track record of reckless spending, grave mismanagement of major projects, that is promising to rip up contracts and destroy jobs and destroy businesses,” he said.

“We can all remember [the desalination plant], myki, the north-south pipeline, the bungled gaming and lottery licences and the costly failed IT projects.

“In contrast, since we’ve come to Government as a coalition, we’ve worked hard to restore the state’s finances and now our budget is proudly the strongest and best in Australia.”

Prime Minister Tony Abbott was invited to Sunday’s launch but did not attend as he was bound for Beijing for the APEC leaders meeting.

The National Party is not having a campaign launch, so a number of National MPs attended the Liberal Party event.