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.”
Brimbank council city futures director Leanne Deans said the existing V-Line line serves a large and growing area and trains from Ballarat are often full by the time they get to Deer Park or Ardeer stations, which are both V-line stations.
“Our current understanding is that the Victorian government is still committed to the Western Rail Plan, although delivery will be delayed from the original presented timeframes,” she said.
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.
