Fast-growing councils seek urgent fix to unsustainable transport woes

The mayor of one of Victoria’s fastest growing councils is urging state and federal governments to rethink their transport priorities, saying the current situation for suburban residents is not sustainable.

The Age on Thursday revealed the Allan government had commissioned and created an ambitious blueprint that canvassed a range of measures to urgently prevent “crush” conditions in the city’s fastest growing suburbs.

Traffic jams are frequent in Beveridge, where just 1.2 per cent of the population catch public transport to work.Credit: Justin McManus

It included electrifying western rail lines and extending the Upfield line, but was also the origin of the state and federal governments’ $4 billion revamp of Sunshine Station and surrounding rail network.

Details of the report, known as the North West Strategic Assessment, were welcomed by councils across the northern and western suburbs, but sparked fresh calls for immediate work to take the pressure off areas serviced by V/Line trains.

Mitchell Shire Mayor John Dougall said they had long called for electrifying the rail line to Wallan, one of the options canvassed in the report, and the construction of a station at Beveridge, where 1.2 per cent of residents travel to work by public transport and the population will double by 2030.

“Our residents deserve access to reliable, frequent public transport now – not in 10 or 15 years,” he said.

Commuters waiting to board a V/Line service at Tarneit.Credit: Joe Armao

“The state and federal governments must act on the advice of their own experts and invest in infrastructure where growth is happening.”

Wyndham City Mayor Mia Shaw said the council already had 324,000 residents and by 2040 would have 500,000.

She said the state government should urgently re-open the rail line between Werribee and Geelong, electrify the Wyndham Vale line and invest in new stations at Tarneit, Wyndham Vale and Truganina.

“While billions of dollars are being spent in the east, there’s not much happening here in Wyndham in terms of rail enhancements.

“The Western Rail Plan was announced in 2018 – seven years ago, yet we’re still waiting.”

Helen Davidson, the Merri-bek mayor and chair of the Northern Council Alliance, said planning for the region was welcomed but not enough.

“We need delivery of the duplication, extension and electrification of the Upfield rail line to Wallan, via the Craigieburn line, to ensure our fast-growing communities in the north can access jobs, education, essential services, family and friends,” she said.

Melton Mayor Steve Abboushi said the growing community needed frequent public transport to get them where they need to be sooner and help get more cars off the road.

“Many of our residents are waiting for infrequent trains that are already at capacity. It impacts their daily lives and is extremely frustrating,” he said.

Professor Jago Dodson, from RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research, said the rapid growth in Melbourne’s north and west was forseeable, but there was no larger transport plan integrated with housing and other government priorities.

“We end up with a schemozzle of ad hoc projects that are often ill-conceived, announced, without any background, technical development or costing development,” he said.

“We’re now a facing situation where there are vast areas of our city that are underserved by public transport, and we’ve made decisions to fund projects that aren’t going to meet those needs.

“We’re now reaping the bitter harvest of all the poorly, poorly sown schemes and projects that were developed over the last decade,” he said.

Another option canvassed in the report, included electrifying all services to Bacchus Marsh, and running a more frequent “shuttle service” between Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh, where commuters could transfer to access the metropolitan network.

Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton welcomed the idea of extending the metropolitan network as far west as Bacchus Marsh, saying it would improve frequency of services and commute times for people living in regional Victoria.

“That provides an opportunity to improve V-Line services for Ballarat and potentially, Geelong and Bendigo as well. People would adjust to changing trains. I don’t think that is a huge impost,” he said.

Poulton said Melton electrification was crucial and the state government’s ambition for improving rail services to the west and north of Melbourne should extend beyond the edge of the urban growth boundary.

“If you are sitting in the western suburbs, you should be kicking the Labor government to spend money there rather than on a Suburban Rail Loop between Cheltenham and Box Hill,” he said.

“They desperately deserve metro services and it will enhance regional services because it takes all those stops between Melton and Sunshine out.”

Allan government minister Enver Erdogan said upgrading the network around Sunshine was a key focus because it unlocked other opportunities across these regions.

Opposition public transport spokesman Matthew Guy said Labor had already promised to electrify the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines but failed to deliver.

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