Max Hatzoglou
Rail Futures Institute president and former V/Line chief operating officer John Hearsch has revealed minimal communication from the state government has raised concerns about the future of rail in Victoria and the west.
Amongst a number of concerns raised was the implementation of the Western Rail Plan established in 2018, however the lack of community consultation remains the biggest concern of them all.
The Western Rail Plan aims to deliver a faster, high-capacity rail network servicing our growing outer suburbs and regional cities.
“The communication between the government and, not only our organisation but just about everyone else, seems to have completely dried up,” Mr Hearsch said.
“We are very concerned about the lack of progress with the Western Rail plan and electrifying the lines to Melton and Wyndham Vale and providing a full suburban service to those places as well as providing faster trains to both Geelong and Ballarat.
“That was all announced to happen in the 2018 election but there’s been little progress from what we can see and even less information about that.
“All that was going to be centered on Sunshine.”
Mr Hearsch said the government had also not consulted the community about the design of the Melbourne Airport rail link through Sunshine and Albion.
A timeline of the Melbourne Airport rail link indicated construction would begin this year after community engagement was completed in 2020 and 2021, yet community groups say communication has been minimal to date.
Former Brimbank mayor John Hedditch, who is a part of the Victoria Transport Action Group and Greater Sunshine Community Alliance, said the new platform for Sunshine Station announced last week was good news however the lack of detail provided is leaving community groups confused.
“The new regional platform for Bendigo travellers sounds really good but we don’t know how the station will be configured to make it happen,” Mr Hedditch said.
“The press release came out saying Sunshine is being supercharged and all the rest of it but no one really knows what that actually means.
“What we’re trying to do is get some plans, concept drawing or images of what it looks like and how it might all end up at Sunshine because at the moment we are in the dark.
“Even the most experienced rail people are confused.”
When asked about what community engagement has occurred from government in the airport rail link project a state government spokesperson made the following comments.
“Melbourne Airport Rail will transform the way passengers travel to and from the airport – with direct trips of around 30 minutes to the heart of the CBD and better connections to jobs, health and education services,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re getting on with delivering this much-needed project to ensure all passengers can access the airport by rail, no matter where they live, and will consider all community feedback received.”
