A PLAN to turn the battling suburb of Sunshine into a prosperous hub for the west hinges on the hope that the regional rail link will draw a huge influx of visitors when it opens in three years’ time.
But that hope – the impetus for a major revitalisation of the town centre – is in doubt, with the state government yet to commit to stopping most regional trains at Sunshine station.
Sunshine will be the place where the Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo lines meet when the regional rail link opens in 2016.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been committed to developing the suburb’s centre, including the $180 million Metrowest development and Brimbank City Council’s $56 million business and community exchange, in the expectation that an extra 30,000 people a day will stop there.
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Council executive officer Stephen Sully said Sunshine was positioned to be the transport hub for Victoria’s three biggest towns.
”Sunshine has always had the land and the potential to be a fantastic place but it hasn’t received the investment,” Mr Sully said. ”The billions the regional rail link is putting in creates a fantastic foundation for us to build on.”
However, Public Transport Victoria is yet to decide whether regional trains will stop at Sunshine or run express. The regional rail link will separate regional trains from Metro trains but it is not expected to reduce journey times for V/Line travellers.
”When complete, the Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Sunbury and Melton lines will run via the Sunshine and Footscray corridors. However, it is too early to confirm the stopping patterns of all trains,” spokeswoman Andrea Duckworth said. The Ballarat line is the only regional line that stops at Sunshine.
Ms Duckworth said Sunshine station was being improved as part of the regional rail link project, to make it safer and better connected to the town centre.
Colleen Hartland, Greens MP for the western suburbs, said Sunshine residents deserved to benefit from the project, given they face lengthy construction works and increased rail noise and diesel fumes when the line is operating.
Camelia Secianschi, who opened a cafe 100 metres from Sunshine station six months ago, said fixing the railway station was ”the best thing that they could ever do”.
