By Neelima Choahan and Josh Gordon
By Neelima Choahan and Josh Gordon
Murrumbeena residents will launch a second day of protests over the Andrews government's plan to build what they call a "shoddy" elevated railway line nine metres above street level in Melbourne's south-east.
Dozens of bureaucrats scrambled to door knock more than 500 houses on Saturday night just hours before the state government announced plans for the massive rail viaducts.
The elevated rail lines will be part of a $1.6 billion project to remove railway crossings on three sections of line from Caulfield to Cranbourne and Pakenham.
Murrumbeena residents Karlee Browning and Tracey Bigg attend a protest earlier this month against a proposed elevated railway line. Credit: Penny Stephens
The residents, who are concerned the elevated train lines will devalue properties and destroy the suburban ambience, will protest at the state Treasury offices on Monday morning.
A petition with more than 2000 signatures will also be presented to Parliament.
On Sunday, hundreds gathered at Murrumbeena's Boyd Park to vent their anger over the state government's decision to award the contract for the elevated rail plan to companies including Lendlease.
The crowd, which spilt out of the park, included families with children holding placards saying "No consultation, No skyrail", the elderly and long-term residents of the tight-knit community.
The proposed elevated rail line that would be built in Heatherton.
Local residents, councillors and state politicians gathered in front of the Murrumbeena Scout Hall and spoke of the damage they feared the proposal would do to the neighbourhood.
No Sky Rail Group member Tracey Bigg said the way they were informed about the "secretive, cheap, shoddy design was disgraceful".
A map of the sections of proposed elevated rail line.
"I will never forget the shock on people's faces . . . how dare you treat our communities in this manner," Ms Bigg said.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said everyone wanted to see the level crossings removed, but they needed to be underground.
NIMBYism has changed over time.Credit: Matt Golding
"Level-crossing removal is the right thing to do, but doing it on the cheap at communities' expense is not," Mr Guy said.
He warned elevated rail could next be built on parts of the Frankston railway line, and on sections of the Hurstbridge line.
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday the government had gone through an "extensive, respectful" engagement process with local residents affected by the proposal.
However, at a media conference on Sunday morning, Level Crossing Removal Authority chief executive Kevin Devlin revealed that consultation process involved door-knocking more than 500 houses ahead of a government-sanctioned media report published on Saturday night.
Mr Devlin denied the authority's consultation strategy had been ramped up ahead of the announcement.
He said it was done without prompting from the government.
Under the plan, three sections of the railway line along the Dandenong railway corridor will be replaced with elevated tracks – dubbed "sky trains" – that will run along the viaduct above the existing railway line.
Barricades will ensure passengers on elevated trains cannot see into nearby houses.
Mr Andrews said the line would also accommodate diesel V/Line and freight trains, ruling out an underground train line.
No Sky Rail president Karlee Browning, who lives one metre from the existing railway corridor, said she had grave concerns about her family's privacy and a decline in property values, as well as fears about "freight train derailment".
The level crossings to be removed include some of the city's worst traffic bottlenecks in Murrumbeena and Clayton.
The consortium awarded the contract to build the project, which includes CPB Contractors and Lendlease, will begin work this year. They are set to finish by November 2018, in time for the next state election.