FRUSTRATED residents are demanding that funds for the stalled Caroline Springs railway station project be included in today’s state budget.
But treasurer Kim Wells has warned that the government could be forced to unveil Victoria’s first budget deficit in almost two decades due to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in GST funding and stamp duty revenue.
Transport Minister Terry Mulder shelved plans for Caroline Springs station in May last year after the previous government’s preliminary works at the south end of Christies Road began in late 2010.
The station was to include a bus stop, taxi rank, and pedestrian and bicycle paths.
Caroline Springs resident Simon Beach drives to Prahran each day for work and says he would like to have the choice to travel by public transport.
“There is so much traffic to get out of Caroline Springs in the morning and there are always cars banked up on the off-ramp of Christies Road,” he said.
Mr Beach said governments had failed to create adequate infrastructure to meet the needs of high-growth areas.
“The current Liberal government has not promised anything, but the previous government didn’t do enough either,” Mr Beach said.
“In the past 12 years all they have funded is a 100-metre road to nowhere.”
Kororoit MP Marlene Kairouz said the station would have been built by now had Labor stayed in power.
“We had fully committed to fund this project and it was the responsibility of the Baillieu government to continue it.”
Residents staged a rally outside Caroline Springs library on Saturday, calling on the government to fund the project.
Keilor MP Natalie Hutchins said a station at Caroline Springs would alleviate pressure on the Sydenham line.
“A lot of commuters from Watergardens station would rather go from Caroline Springs so it would mean fewer cars on local roads.”
A spokesman for Mr Mulder said the “mess” left by Labor at other proposed stations had cost it $10 million to rectify.
He said the government had now purchased land at Caroline Springs and environmental approvals were in place.
The Transport Department has prepared a detailed station design.
