Put Clyde Back on Track: Liberals promise $487m to extend Cranbourne train line to Clyde
EVERYONE is on board with a Liberal pledge to extend the Cranbourne train line to Clyde — except for the Labor State Government.
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EVERYONE is on board with a Liberal pledge to extend the Cranbourne train line to Clyde — except for the Labor State Government.
In a win for the Leader’s ‘Put Clyde Back on Track’ campaign the Opposition said it will spend nearly half a billion dollars to revitalise southeast train services if they win power at the state election
The Leader has long called for the Cranbourne line to be extended along the former Leongatha route to service Casey’s south.
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More than 240,000 people are expected to live in the Cranbourne East and Clyde areas by 2025 and Casey’s population will hit almost 500,000 by 2041.
Last week Liberal Leader Matthew Guy said a Coalition Government would extend the metropolitan rail network from Cranbourne to Clyde rail to “help get Victoria moving”.
Casey Council, the Public Transport Users Association and Infrastructure Victoria have all backed the project.
But so far the Labor State Government has fallen well short of matching the Liberal’s public transport platform.
Mr Guy said at a cost of $487 million they would build 5km of electrified double line, with work to begin next year and be finished by 2022.
New stations will be built at Cranbourne East and Clyde along with 350 additional parking spaces, and key intersections will be grade-separated.
He said this was the first stage of their plan to upgrade the Cranbourne rail corridor which in future would include the full duplication from Cranbourne to Dandenong and an extension to Koo Wee Rup.
“We need to ease the population squeeze which is why I am so focused on planning for population growth so every Victorian can enjoy living in their communities,” Mr Guy said.
Casey Mayor Geoff Ablett said he was pleased, but they won’t rest until Labor matches the Opposition pledge.
Social media posters also signalled their approval.
One said it was an “answer to her prayers”, although some commentators doubted it would ever happen, writing they had their “fingers crossed” it would be built.
Acting Premier James Merlino refused to match the pledge.
“The Liberals have form with these announcements — when last in Government they promised to build Doncaster Rail and then did nothing, they also promised a rail line to Avalon airport and that never happened either,” Mr Merlino said.
TIME LINE:
1888: Dandenong Cranbourne rail line opened
1891 Line extended through Clyde to Leongatha
1993 Last passenger train, Melbourne to Leongatha
1994 Cranbourne state Liberal MP Gary Rowe pushes for line upgrade for suburban
passenger service to Clyde
1995 Dandenong-Cranbourne section of line electrified for suburban travel
1999 Coalition and Labor both promise to extend the electrified line to Cranbourne East
2002-3 Line extension included in State Budget papers
2003-4 Line extension dropped from Budget papers
2015 Cranbourne Leader launches campaign to reopen the line
2017 The State Government sets aside $3 million to buy land for a rail station in Cranbourne East
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