Badly need rail extension of Cranbourne line to Clyde could be up to 30 years away
IT’S Melbourne’s most overcrowded rail line, serving an area expecting a population explosion — but a new State Government plan reveals it could be 2046 before it is extended.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Far from fine and dandy on train line
- No quick fix for commuter crush
- Can Melburnians really be this rude?
- Why does it take 90 minutes to go 3km?
A DESPERATELY-needed extension of the Cranbourne rail line to Clyde could still be three decades away, a State Government draft plan has revealed.
Despite government estimates showing the Cranbourne East and Clyde population will hit 240,000 by 2025, the government’s draft 30 Year Infrastructure Strategy recommends extending the line only sometime within the next 15-30 years.
HAVE YOUR SAY: What do you think of the plan’s recommendation? Tell us below
The plan targets the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines for intensive housing development because the lines are “expected to experience fewer capacity constraints over the next 30 years.”
However, Public Transport Victoria figures released earlier this month revealed Dandenong corridor trains are already Melbourne’s most crowded, with a staggering 47.4 per cent of travellers during the peak morning period jammed onto overcrowded services.
The Public Transport Users’ Association criticised the draft plan. Spokesman Daniel Bowen said the government had its priorities wrong.
“It’s important that people have public transport options as soon as they move in, rather than them being provided later, after car-dependent travel patterns are entrenched,” Ms Bowen said.
“Extending the line in 15 to 30 years is likely to be too late.
“The Cranbourne line must also be duplicated to allow more trains to run reliably as the local population grows.
“The single track sections are a bottleneck preventing more trains, and resulting in minor delays easily snowballing into major disruption.”
Opposition spokesman for infrastructure David Davis said residents in Melbourne’s southeast should be “very afraid” of the draft strategy.
“My advice to those in the south and the east is to take every opportunity to reject Daniel Andrews’ forced overdevelopment,” Mr Davis said.
“Communities have not been consulted; the Plan Melbourne refresh is late and is clearly intended to act as a battering ram for unwanted forced development and densification.”
Cranbourne State Labor MP Jude Perera said the Infrastructure Victoria’s 30 year strategy was a draft and “not Government policy”.
“The Andrews Labor Government will be responding to this strategy,” Mr Perera said.
He said public transport improvements were “vital” and the previous government had spent nothing on the line.
He said he believed duplication of the Cranbourne line should come first.
“I am in favour of an extension of the Cranbourne line however, current commuters are constantly putting to me that when they are catching a Cranbourne-bound train they are spending up to 20 minutes at Dandenong station waiting, before they can board on another train to Cranbourne as the single line is not user friendly and subsequently only supports one train at a time from Dandenong to Cranbourne ... this simply has to stop,” he said.
Mr Perera said he was going to campaign for the duplication of the line and would speak in Parliament about it this week.