Growing suburban airport precinct calls for new rail network to loop it in
A growing airport and retail precinct wants to be included in the multibillion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop to service its 8.4 million annual visitors.
Victoria
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A booming airport, retail and industrial hub in Melbourne’s southeast wants the multi-billion dollar Suburban Rail Loop to connect to its precinct.
Moorabbin Airport’s draft Masterplan, which sets the direction of the area for the next two decades, says there is a massive opportunity to grow the activity centre with jobs, new education facilities and accommodation.
It says the airport was “well placed to support the development and augmentation of the Suburban Rail Loop in the future”, including as a station site, due to density of employment and the fact 8.4 million people visit the precinct each year.
It also notes the “availability of land for large transport infrastructure”.
The SRL stage one is set to be built between Southland Shopping Centre in Cheltenham and Box Hill, via 26 km of tunnels and six underground stations.
Nearby residents in Heatherton, who are fighting a train stabling yard being built over their backyard fences, say transport planners should also consider the area — a few kilometres south — for a maintenance hub and storage yard.
Michelle Hornstein, who runs the Move the Train Yard campaign, said this would save plans for a chain of parks in green wedge areas in Heatherton.
“A Suburban Rail Loop station near Moorabbin Airport would open up train network access to many suburbs — Dingley Village, Heatherton and Cheltenham East — as well as link two major shopping centres, DFO and Southland, and our two major airports,” she said.
“It would also help workers and flight school students reach the precinct, which has 8.4 million visits per year that currently rely on cars.”
The Andrews Government has recently held sessions with affected residents near to the proposed stabling yard, which is also near to the world-famous Kingston Heath Golf Course.
It has released a report showing other areas were considered for the facility, including a farmland site and industrial land in Moorabbin that went to a detailed assessment process.
The latter area was ruled out due to the number of jobs likely to be lost if properties were acquired.
Executive general manager of rail and infrastructure at the SRL, Nicole Stoddart, said the process was “comprehensive”.
“We’re working closely with the community to minimise the impact of the (chosen) site with measures like screening, landscaping and enhancing some of the surrounding reserves,” she said.
Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman David Davis said the project was created without a business case and residents were ignored.
“Of course the government should have been looking at key locations for stations like the Moorabbin Airport and of course the government should not have ridden rough shod over Heatherton residents forcing train stabling into long protected green wedge land,” he said.
Originally published as Growing suburban airport precinct calls for new rail network to loop it in
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