By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
MORE than 60 south-east manufacturers are among the potential winners from a State Government plan for extra trains and fewer level crossings on the Dandenong rail corridor.
The government announced last week that it will buy 37 trains and that each of them would carry 20 per cent more passengers than current trains when they come into service from 2018.
South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance executive director Adrian Boden said the boost from 30 per cent to 50 per cent in Australian-made content for each train would benefit jobs.
About 67 firms in the region are capable of supplying the new trains, he said.
“There’s only a question mark as to the definition of the 50 per cent – we think it should be 50 per cent of manufacturing content not (including) maintenance and design.
“Manufacturing is still a staple part of the GDP of Victoria.
“We’ve got a growing population and we’ve got to work to increase the number of jobs – being stable is not good enough.”
Mr Boden praised the removal of level crossings including three traffic-clogging boom gates in Noble Park by 2018.
“It can’t happen soon enough. They’re a significant drag on the time and efficiency of moving goods around.”
He said the “serious traffic congestion” around the fatal Abbotts Road level-crossing should be soon added to the list of problems to be addressed.
“Some businesses don’t want to send trucks into Abbotts Road because they can’t get there quick enough. It’s not worth being stuck in traffic for two hours.”
The government claims the project will boost capacity by up to 42 per cent on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines – more than 11,000 extra passengers during the morning peak.
Councillor Roz Blades, who has long lobbied for the Noble Park grade separations, said she was “euphoric” about the jobs created as well as the extra trains.
“It will revitalise the whole of the south east.”
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams labelled the project as a “once-in-a-generation investment in better roads and better transport for Dandenong”.
Opposition leader Matthew Guy defended the previous government’s plan for a public-private partnership project which was scrapped by its successor last week.
“If the Coalition plan is so flawed, why is Daniel Andrews spending $30 million of taxpayers’ money on buying the blueprint?
“Daniel Andrews can’t say what it will cost, doesn’t know how it will be funded and isn’t sure when the project will start or finish.”
Greens south-east metropolitan MP Nina Springle said the government’s commitment to fixing the “dangerously overcrowded” lines was welcome but she was disappointed by the lack of high-speed signalling.
“Modern digital train signals allow more trains to be run closer together, which is the only way to grow capacity,“ Ms Springle said.
Public Transport Users’ Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the upgrades would provide “a lot more capacity – bigger trains and more of them.”
“We hope that the upgrades included in the Dandenong line will provide enough of a boost to capacity until high-capacity signalling can be rolled out.”
He said there was “one omission” – the Cranbourne line would continue to be a bottleneck without plans for duplication.
