Level crossings to be removed in Melbourne’s northwest in infrastructure pledge

The Andrews government has been accused of neglecting a 2018 election pledge to electrify trains to Melton after revealing plans to boost V/Line services in the area.

The Andrews government has been accused of walking away from its 2018 election promise to electrify trains out to Melton after announcing plans to boost V/Line services in the area.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan on Thursday announced the government would invest up to $650m for better train services and upgraded stations in Melton.

Four major level crossings in Melbourne’s northwest would be removed and stations upgraded to handle nine-car V/line trains, boosting their capacity by 50 per cent.

But the announcement was met with frustration by transport experts, who pointed to a commitment in 2018 to electrify the railway out in Melton and Wyndham Vale as part of the Western Rail Plan.

Commuters in Melbourne’s west are now forced to use V/Line, the regional rail operator, and advocates have long called for electrification to bring them into the Melbourne network with better services like those in Melbourne’s north and east.

Four major level crossings in Melbourne’s northwest would be removed and stations upgraded to handle nine-car V/line trains. Picture: David Crosling

In October 2018, Labor pledged to deliver this and committed $100m to the Western Rail Plan.

But no progress on this goal has been reported since while other projects such as Geelong Fast Rail, an airport railway and the Suburban Rail Loop have moved ahead.

“This plan will deliver the transformation that our state needs: electrification of rail lines out to the west, and fast rail to Geelong and Ballarat, returning country rail to country communities,” Mr Andrews said at the time.

Experts now fear Thursday’s promise to improve V/Line services shows electrification will not happen until at least 2028 when the upgrades are finished.

Rail Futures Institute resident John Hearsch said the government was yet to solve the underlying problem of finding more capacity for trains between Sunshine and the CBD.

A new tunnel had been proposed as part of Melbourne Airport Rail, which would have freed up the network, but this was ditched in favour of running airport trains through the Metro Tunnel.

Daniel Andrews on Thursday announced the government would invest up to $650m in Melton. Picture: David Crosling

“They are so up to the ears with the Suburban Rail Loop financially they probably can’t afford to do anything about it,” Mr Hearsch said.

“It is unconscioniable that the electrification to Melton, which they promised faithfully with the Wyndham Vale line, and made a big thing about, they’ve now just walked away from.”

Mr Hearsch said it made sense that level crossing removals were needed as part of electrification, but said the government needed to show a commitment to deliver Metro services.

“Because they haven’t solved the underlying problem they can’t do that,” he said.

The rail futures institute has proposed its own solution to cater for Melbourne’s booming western suburbs, which includes running trains through Fishermen’s Bend and a second Metro Tunnel.

Mr Andrews on Thursday said the newly announced Melton upgrades would help pave the way for electric trains.

“Well, it is (coming) but you’ve got to do the stages. You’ve got to get that planning right,” he said.

“This is part of taking the next step to electrify the line. You can’t electrify this line until you finish Geelong and create the space and also until you get rid of these crossings.

Four major level crossings in Melbourne’s northwest, at Coburns Rd, Exford Rd and Ferris Rd in Melton and Hopkins Rd in Truganina would also be added to a growing list of planned removals.

The level crossing at Coburns Rd in Melton. Picture: Victorian government.

Final designs for the crossings have not been released but it’s understood works are expected to begin next year and will be completed by 2028.

“We’re getting on with making Melton completely crossing-free,” Mr Andrews said on Thursday morning.

“We’ve already removed 67 dangerous and congested level crossings across Melbourne – but there’s more to do. This project will build on our huge transport investments in Melbourne’s outer west.”

The Premier said the project would benefit more than 73,000 drivers using these crossings each day.

Now in the early planning stage, the level crossings at Exford Rd and Coburns Rd are expected to be removed with rail trenches, while Hopkins and Ferris roads would likely require elevating the road over the train tracks.

The designs would be released after community consultation and site investigations, Mr Andrews said.

The plan to overhaul the Melton line would result in train capacity being increased by 50 per cent and Melton station completely rebuilt.

It comes as the opposition on Thursday promised nearly $1bn to extend the Metro rail line out to Clyde in a bid to better service Melbourne’s southeast.