‘Don’t forget about us in the north’: Residents demand duplicated tracks on Upfield train line

Relentless train delays, cancellations and overcrowding on a busy train line in Melbourne’s north has brought the frustrated community together in protest to have their voices heard.

Relentless train delays, cancellations and overcrowding on a busy train line in Melbourne‘s North has brought the frustrated community together in protest to have their voices heard.

Fawkner residents living around Gowrie railway station say they face significant disruptions when commuting to work due to train tracks on the station merging into one, leaving just one train operational at a given time.

According to the RACV’s 2019 On Track Survey the Upfield train line is the poorest performing train line in the state with five of the Upfield train stations identified to have the most infrequent train services in Victoria, and four were among the lowest-rated for commuter experiences.

Resident Jenny Chapman, who’s lived in the area for more than 15 years, told the Herald Sun people were frustrated with the less frequent trains, especially in peak hours.

“We wait about 20 minutes, even in rush hour, and that’s been our biggest issue because we get less frequent trains. Often, trains are cancelled from the north of Coburg, so they turn around and return,” she said.

Fawkner locals gathered at Gowrie Railway Station to demand duplicating the Upfield train line.

“People will often go to other lines which are often oversubscribed but if you don’t have a car, you can’t just drive to another line. It’s not always the solution.”

Ms Chapman said there was a sense of neglect towards the communities in the north from the state government.

“This is a growth corridor, and it’s been growing for a long time. 20 years ago, there were talks of closing this line because there weren’t that many people — it’s very different now.”

Ms Chapman said the “unpredictability” and “unreliability” of the trains were forcing people to use less eco-friendly options to commute.

“Not upgrading the Upfield train line is disappointing, especially with the nature of climate change. Many people are committed to those issues, and this puts barriers in place.”

John Englart, who’s lived in Fawkner for 13 years, said it was crucial to duplicate the train tracks and extend it to Wallan.

“We’ve got real problems here in the northern suburbs, and the state government isn’t focusing on addressing the problems in the northern suburbs transport corridor,” he said.

Mr Englart, while holding back tears, said he would “really like the state government to be honest with the people up in the northern suburbs”.

“I have missed appointments because of time cancellation here, but I also see social equity issues of people living in Fawkner and further north — they don’t have good public transport,” he said.

Fawkner resident Mr John Englart joined the local community on Monday to protest for duplicating and extending the Upfield train line to Wallan and Craigieburn.

“The rail line needs to be electrified out to Wallan to meet our transport needs. We have high car dependency mortgage stress, cost of living pressures, and electrifying the line can alleviate those pressures.”

The Department of Transport has been contacted for comment.

Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton said the single-track line was “driving people out of public transport in their cars”.

“There’s no public transport link to the city from the northern suburbs. Once people have been late for work a few times and the boss threatens them with a sack for being late for work, they going to drive if they have a car or buy a car and then never use the train again,” she said.

Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton said the neglect for duplicating the train line on Gowrie station was pushing people away from using public transport.

Ms Bolton said people in the northern suburbs were “treated like second-class citizens” and that cancellations were “not just inconvenient” but had “life-altering, negative impacts” on people.

“I’ve personally been at Gowrie station and witnessed people in tears pleading with the station staff to write a letter to their boss to say that their trains have been cancelled,” she said.

Ms Bolton said the state government should consider duplicating the train track when the lines will be disrupted for Brunswick level crossing removal, commencing in about two years.

“The project to duplicate the Upfield line is way, way cheaper. It would cost just a few million dollars compared to the billions that they’re spending on the Level Crossing Removal,” she said

“This is quite a short project which will have a much bigger impact and improve people‘s lives than the level crossing project will have.

Two train lines connect at Gowrie railway station into one single train track going up north.

Merri-bek city council has called for priority investments towards the Upfield rail corridor, advocating to local, state and federal MPs through meetings and letters.

Mayor Angelica Panopoulos said the Upfield rail line had the “poorest frequency in Victoria”, with trains running only every 20 minutes during peak periods.

“With a single track between Gowrie and Upfield stations, significant bottlenecks and constraints will remain, meaning our community in the north will continue to experience an unreliable and infrequent service,” she said.

“We need the state government to duplicate and upgrade the Upfield rail line to ensure our community has access to a better public transport service and a genuine alternative to car travel to help build a more sustainable city.”