Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's first promise to Queensland during the official election campaign is for a Townsville project - but it's not money for the northern city's high-priority football stadium.
Mr Turnbull on Wednesday pledged $150 million towards the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor.
He says the investment will provide a new 8km rail freight line to the city's port, and address an existing bottleneck in the supply chain.
The project will deliver about 300 jobs during the construction phase as well, he said.
But as he campaigns in the state's north, voters will likely be hoping he follows Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's lead and matches the state government's commitment of $100 million for a new Townsville stadium.
Nevertheless, Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls has welcomed Mr Turnbull's rail corridor commitment.
"Upgrading the rail line into the Port of Townsville is an incredible commitment to the region, maximising productivity at the port and creating much-needed jobs for Townsville," Mr Nicholls said. "It's encouraging to see investment in key economic infrastructure for North Queensland after what has been a tough period for Townsville."
The community is still reeling after mass job losses at Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel refinery.
The push for a new stadium in Townsville comes after the NRL champion North Queensland Cowboys last week threatened they might need to leave the city if the new infrastructure wasn't built in the near future.
The coalition government had made some announcements for Queensland in its budget just before the election, including road funding, but there was no mention of a stadium.
