Mt Atkinson resident Gaurav Sharma’s daily 25-kilometre commute to the city by car takes him up to 90 minutes.
He and his wife would like to take the train to work, but doing so is fraught with challenges.
“We struggle with the train from Rockbank station due to long travel times, unsafe parking, and overcrowding,” Mr Sharma said.
What should be a 10-minute journey by car to the train station, can take up to 30 minutes, with another 15 minutes to find parking. Overcrowded trains mean the couple is often unable to board and have to wait 20 minutes for the next one, adding more time to their commute.
Mr Sharma is sharing his story as part of Melton council’s ‘Let’s get the City of Melton Moving’ campaign, which is calling for further federal investment in the municipality’s rail and roads.
Council launched the campaign this week, calling on all major parties contesting the May 3 federal election to commit to additional investment as a matter of priority.
Council said the campaign’s top priorities are the electrification of the Melton rail line and new stations at Mt Atkinson, Thornhill Park and Calder Park.
Also on the list are urgent upgrades to key roads including Hopkins Road, Melton Highway, and the Palmers Road Corridor north of the Western Highway (including Robinsons Road, Westwood Drive and Calder Park Drive).
Mayor Steve Abboushi said with the population of the City of Melton set to almost double in the next 30 years to a size greater than Canberra, investment in adequate transport infrastructure needed to happen now.
“More than 70 per cent of our workforce travel outside the City of Melton to work every day, our major arterial roads are already heavily congested and our rail services at capacity,” Cr Abboushi said.
“At the rate we are growing, we can’t afford to wait any longer for this critical investment.”
So far, Labor and the Liberal Party have both committed $1 billion to upgrade the Western Highway, while Labor and the state government have announced $300 million to upgrade the Calder Freeway’s Calder Park Drive diamond interchange.
Liberal leader Peter Dutton has also announced plans to cut funding for upgrades to Sunshine station if the Coalition wins government, which council said would put the electrification of the Melton line at risk.
Council said electrifying the rail line and stations at Mt Atkinson, Thornhill Park and Calder Park would allow for a 27 per cent increase in public transport usage and also result in 12,000 fewer cars on the road each day.
“There’s a lot more investment needed for our community,” Cr Abboushi said.
“Our residents are spending more time travelling than what is needed, meaning less time spent with family and friends.
“Our growing community needs efficient, frequent public transport to get our them, where they need to be sooner and safer.”
