In August 2018, three months out from the state election, then premier Daniel Andrews stepped out of the locomotive of Victorian government and changed the points on transport policy.
Until then, his voting and taxpaying passengers had been heading towards destinations known as Metro 2, creating a new underground line between Newport and Clifton Hill via Fishermans Bend, and the Western Rail Plan, which would have seen train lines to Melton and Wyndham electrified to meet growing passenger demand and ultimately improved connections between Melbourne and the regional centres of Ballarat and Geelong.
Commuters wait on the platform during the morning peak hour at Tarneit train station.Credit: Joe Armao
But that August a number of unscheduled stops were added to the route. Ministers, bureaucrats and key government agencies were all blindsided by “the biggest public transport project in history”, at first known as Operation Halo but now familiar to us as the Suburban Rail Loop. Originally costed at “up to $50 billion”, that has now become the estimate just for construction of the first two stages, connecting Cheltenham to Box Hill.
That the eastern part of the loop was given priority – and, indeed, that the belated business case presented for it only considered that section of the mammoth project – both raised doubts about whether we would ever reach our earlier destinations. Those doubts were compounded when the government reneged on its commitments to build new lines to the city’s west.
This week our reporters’ freedom of information requests unearthed a letter Paul Younis – this state’s most senior transport bureaucrat – wrote to his Commonwealth counterpart a year ago. In it, he refers to a report warning of a transport crisis in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs if their rail systems are not comprehensively overhauled.
We can’t show you that report because neither the Allan government nor the Albanese government will divulge it. But we have been covering the facts on which its conclusions are built for years. The west is the fastest-growing part of our capital, with estimates suggesting its population will reach 1.47 million people by 2046. In his letter, Younis wrote that “more than twice the population of Canberra is forecast to move into [Melbourne’s north and west] in the next 15 years”.
Even as Australia’s peak infrastructure body casts doubt on whether the SRL East can really be delivered to the projected time frame and cost, and calls on the Allan government to develop “exit strategies”, the rest of the city is left watching the screen and wondering if their service will ever arrive.
The inhabitants of the north and west cannot continue to be so poorly connected to the rest of our city if our economy is to prosper. As opposition public transport spokesman Matthew Guy has said: “The Suburban Rail Loop is a nice to have, but electrifying to Wallan, Melton and Wyndham Vale is a must-have.”
The residents of our city’s west have long believed that Labor’s firm grip on their electorates has created a disincentive to honour spending commitments and bigger visions for their region, from the East Werribee Employment Precinct to the promised “20-minute city” in Mambourin.
Even as doubts grew about the utility of building major new infrastructure between Cheltenham and Clayton, the vision for the rest of the city seems to have become a mirage, constantly receding from view.
At Fishermans Bend, where a government masterplan once saw 80,000 residents and 80,000 jobs by 2050, we learned this week from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office that even a humble bike lane connecting the peninsula to the CBD, supposed to have been completed by now, is unlikely to eventuate by 2040. This is before we talk about the wider plan for the precinct, delivery of which is now estimated at 2055, and the Metro 2 tunnel that was supposed to connect it by rail to the rest of the city. Remember that?
As our state political editor, Chip Le Grand, pointed out this week, the machinery that will build the SRL is about to be set in motion in ways that are irrevocable. When Jacinta Allan was made deputy premier in June 2022, having been the Suburban Rail Loop minister, The Age argued for “broadened and more transparent consultation to make sure whatever plan is adopted works for everyone, and not just politicians”.
When the driver on the train or the supervisor at the station tells us what is happening on the line, it isn’t just for our peace of mind. It’s also the right thing to do if they care about our future plans.
It is surely not too late for the premier and her ministers to heed this call. They should show us the secret report, admit that Melbourne’s west and north are pressing priorities and re-commit to getting us to and from them in a timely and efficient manner.
The alternative is an increasingly impatient public, stuck in a two-speed city.
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.