Abbotsford residents blindsided by creation of late-night stabling yard

Residents living near a newly created industrial rail yard in Abbotsford will be offered alternative accommodation over Easter because of the noise.

Abbotsford residents have been blindsided by the creation of late-night stabling yard. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Abbotsford families living near a newly created industrial rail yard will be offered alternative accommodation over Easter because of the high levels of noise from the site near Victoria Park station.

Heavy machinery was also being removed from the railway siding on Thursday night after an embarrassing backdown and apology from transport authorities.

It’s believed the noisy equipment will be taken away for at least two months, allowing residents to get some sleep after weeks of disturbance.

A Department of Transport spokesperson acknowledged the night-time noise had been frustrating and upsetting for residents.

“We sincerely apologise for the disruption to their daily life.

“The situation should have been handled better and we’re doing what we can to improve things going forward. This includes a number of short-term measures to minimise the noise impacts of the stabling and maintenance facility including the relocation of track machinery, while we work on a long-term solution for the community.’’

A spokeswoman for Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said that disruption on big projects had to be handled properly.

“Local communities have the right to know how these works are impacting their area – and we expect our operators, construction partners and projects to regularly communicate to impacted residents.

“The Minister has asked the department to work with the operator to put in place a mitigation strategy immediately.’’

It’s also believed state MP for Richmond Richard Wynne had been in contact with residents over finding a solution.

RESIDENTS BLINDSIDED

Residents in an inner northeast suburb have been blindsided by the creation of a late-night stabling yard for industrial trains and heavy equipment just metres near their homes.

Abbotsford families have only discovered that a rail siding near Victoria Park has been converted into a base for noisy heavy equipment.

The project is believed to have been up to two years in the planning and has cost millions of dollars. Residents were informed on Monday of its establishment.

Overnight noise from the site is already keeping families awake.

Resident spokesman Adam Promnitz said the community wanted to know why a major piece of transport infrastructure was dumped in their neighbourhood and no one thought to tell them.

“The use of the station has been changed from a passenger station to an industrial site.

“And the first we knew about this was on Monday night when it had been built,’’ he said.

The tight-knit neighbourhood is asking the Department of Transport if any environment assessments such as noise and dust were conducted on the site.

Train and other heavy rail equipment at the newly created stabling yard near Victoria Park station in Abbotsford.

It’s believed the industrial stabling yard was previously near Coburg station where lines changed because a level crossing was removed from Bell St.

The Abbotsford residents have already endured all-night Metro works for several weeks because of line duplication of the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines.

“This is noise you can feel,’’ Mr Promnitz told the Herald Sun.

The residents acknowledge know the impact of living near a passenger railway line but say the latest changes make everyday life intolerable. Families up to 100m away have reported being unable to sleep.

Complaints to Metro about the window-rattling level of noise – as much as 90 decibels or the equivalent of standing next to a lawnmower – led to the realisation about the change of use for the site.

The works schedule for the coming days includes machinery operating from 10pm until as late at 3.30am.

One train, a machine that grinds rail tracks, takes two hours to warm up its diesel engines on site and only operates in the small hours after suburban services have ended on the network.

A diesel generator has also been installed on the site and operates all hours.

The Department of Transport spokesperson said Victoria Park Station was a critical location along the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines, “with a train stabling facility supporting a more reliable network’’.

“We understand the concerns of residents about increased noise near the station and we’ll continue to monitor noise at this site and work with community members to establish if mitigation strategies are needed.”

The department ignored questions about the cost, noise mitigation, environment assessments and communication with residents.

The Environment Protection Authority does not regulate construction by a government authority or essential transport work. But whether that applies to permanent operations is still unclear.

Yarra council is powerless to enforce noise abatement bylaws on transport infrastructure works.

Concerns have also been raised about the source and possible contamination of soil that has been dumped on the site.