Plans to electrify Frankston railway line, extend to Baxter gain momentum
A push to upgrade the Frankston railway line to help connect Mornington Peninsula commuters is gaining momentum, with 23 ideas for the future narrowed down to two as the group behind it awaits a green light from the State Government.
South East
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A double-track railway could stretch from Frankston to Langwarrin or Baxter under bold plans to fix poor service and connectivity along the troubled line.
And two key options to transform the route and help connect residents from the Mornington Peninsula are gaining momentum, with a local lobby group hoping services could run as often as every 15 minutes.
One option includes extending twin tracks to Langwarrin which would run through a new station at Leawarra near Monash Peninsula and connect to another new station at Langwarrin, at an estimated cost of more than $400 million.
The other choice involves electrifying the track through to Baxter, costing $550 million.
Both the ideas — endorsed by an advisory committee of local councillors and state MPs — come after the Committee for Greater Frankston’s extension campaign locked $225 million in federal government funding after the issue landed on country’s list of urgent transport projects in February.
Infrastructure Australia asked the committee to explore 23 ideas that would “significantly improve” public transport and revitalise the region’s economy.
Committee for Greater Frankston chief executive Ginevra Hosking said the two priority options provided a “minimum” 15-minute train service and were supported by a series of commuter connection hub projects to improve localised “car to train, bus to train, and pedestrian cycle path to train connections”.
Ms Hosking said more benefits included connecting at least another 37,000 residents from Frankston East, Frankston South, Karingal and Langwarrin to the metropolitan rail network as well as creating more than 2000-plus car spaces Mornington Peninsula travellers.
“Importantly, both options allow a 15-minute service … (as well as) a new Leawarra Monash campus station servicing the growing Frankston health and education precinct, and moving the main commuter parking outside Frankston’s CBD and freeing up the city centre for other users,” Ms Hosking said.
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Ms Hosking said the most controversial aspect of the committee’s report would be if there was insufficient funds from the state government to duplicate and electrify all 8km of the line to Baxter.
“One shorter-term option we investigated was electrification of the existing single track rather than replacement with a double track, on the assumption that a second track could be built in future,” she said.
“However, a single track would severely reduce train frequency.
“A single track to Langwarrin should support a 15-minute ‘turn up and go’ service … (but) a single track to Baxter would not.”