Liam McNally
A western metro MP has accused the transport minister of pushing the electrification of the Melton train line into the “never-never” after he questioned the project in state parliament.
In August, David Ettershank asked Danny Pearson to confirm whether the electrification of the Melton line will proceed and provide a likely time line for its delivery.
In an answer, Mr Pearson provided on January 9, he pointed to upgrades the Melton line will receive as a part of its $650 million upgrade, but described electrification as a “potential” project.
“The $650 million Melton line upgrade will see stations upgraded and platforms extended to make the line ready for nine-car VLocity trains by 2028, increasing train capacity by 50 per cent,” he said.
“The Melton line upgrade will be future-proofed to allow for the potential future electrification of the corridor.“
The electrification of the Melton line, which would enable a metro service separate to the Ballarat V-line, was a promise made by Labor in the lead up to the 2018 election.
Mr Ettershank said Mr Pearson’s latest answer to the electrification question treated Melton residents as “second class citizens”.
“‘Future-proofing’ the Melton line is just code for putting the electrification upgrade into the never-never,“ he said. “It’s just not good enough.
“Adding a couple of carriages to the Vlocity train from Ballarat is possibly good news for the residents of Ballarat but will just result in Melton residents not being able to board a bigger, full train.”
Melton mayor Kathy Majdlik said the council appreciates the investment of $650 million to upgrade the Melton line but duplication, electrification and separation of the Melton line is needed to meet the rapidly growing demand from commuters.
“Everyday more than 70 per cent of our workforce makes the commute to work outside the City of Melton,“ she said. “With our rapid population growth, we are projecting that will rise to more than 110,000 daily commutes in 2050. That’s 65,000 more commuters on the roads and using public transport daily.
“Independent analysis by Clarity Consult, based on the Victorian Integrated Traffic Model, found that electrification would see present value benefits of $910 million over 30 years.“
When asked by Star Weekly, the state government indicated the Western Rail Plan will be delivered in stages, including the future electrification of the corridor, but did not provide any further clarification on a timeline.
