In a visit to Castlemaine on Wednesday, member for Bendigo west Maree Edwards announced a $125,136 grant from the Enabling Tourism fund to go towards the final planning stages of the project.

The project is one of several across the state's regional and rural areas benefiting from this round of funding, which is designed to help regional tourism projects get a kickstart by funding planning work, feasibility studies or business cases.

Ms Edwards said tourism is a key contributor to the Goldfield region's economy, creating around 9,400 jobs and contributing an estimated $756 million in gross regional product in 2019-20.

"The Victorian Goldfields Railway is an icon for Central Victoria and we are continuing to invest in improving our tourism drawcards for the region," she said.

"We're providing the foundations for investments that will grow tourism and create jobs across the state."

The state government is backing the revitalisation of Victoria's tourism industry through the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: