By Olivia Condous
An independent transport organisation has called for the Victorian government to rethink current priority rail projects in favour of a new railway that would connect the western suburbs, including Melton, with the rest of Melbourne.
The Rail Futures Institute (RFI) released a statement on July 13 that argued the government’s Suburban Rail Loop project was not the best option for investment and proposed a new option that would have “substantially wider benefits”.
The organisation put forward the Melbourne East-West Rail, which would combine with the current Melbourne Metro project and draws upon the government’s Western Rail Plan, which was first announced in 2018 but has not progressed since.
The proposed rail would provide access points from Melton and Wyndham Vale, through the city and then to the northern suburbs of Mernda and Wollert, via Fitzroy.
The outer western suburbs would also benefit from five new train stations in order to meet the needs of growing residential developments.
In the statement from the RFI, the proposed rail aims to redress the lack of public transport supply in the western growth corridor and assist with western residents’ challenges of limited local employment, lack of health and educational facilities and heavily congested roads.
Melton mayor Goran Kesic said the council welcomed the recommendation to fast track rail connection to the area.
“More than 70 per cent of our workforce travels outside of the municipality daily, this is projected to increase significantly with the number of commuters set to rise to 110,000 by 2051.
“We need investment now,” Cr Kesic said.
A spokesperson for the Victorian government said it was currently delivering the biggest ever pipeline of infrastructure projects, with upgrades to roads and rails in Melbourne’s west.
“The government’s current solutions provide the benefits that this plan purports to achieve and it is happening right now.”
