By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
THE State Government’s revamped plan to improve the Dandenong rail corridor has been announced – more new trains, fewer level crossings but no high-capacity signalling.
The government will buy 37 trains – each train would be at least 50 per cent Australian-made and on the tracks from 2018, the government pledged.
Some of the level crossings to go include the three traffic-clogging boom gates in Noble Park.
A new train depot and maintenance facility will be built in Pakenham.
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 on the morning peak.
About $30 million will be paid to scrap a public-private project negotiated by the Coalition for the rail corridor’s upgrade last year.
The pay-out includes buying the intellectual property of the private consortium.
The government stated its plan would remove five more level crossings and deliver 12 extra new trains than the Coalition’s project.
The new project’s cost has been undisclosed but is more than the $2.5 billion slated for the PPP.
The government claimed the Coalition had prior to last year’s election secretly scrapped plans for high-capacity signalling on the line.
The government will trial high-capacity signalling on the Sandringham line rather than install it on the Dandenong rail corridor.
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams said the Chandler Road level crossing would be one of the first 20 level crossings removed out of the government’s list of 50.
“This is a once-in-a-generation investment in better roads and better transport for Dandenong.”
Premier Daniel Andrews said: “The boom gates between Dandenong and Caulfield stay down for up to 80 minutes over the morning peak.
“If we don’t act now, transport in the south-east will eventually grind to a halt.”
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the project would mean fewer delays and more services on Melbourne’s busiest rail line.
“Removing level crossings will create Victorian jobs. Building trains locally will protect Victorian jobs. This helps our transport system and our economy.”
Greens public transport spokeswoman Samantha Dunn said commuters had been “abandoned” under the ALP plan, criticising the lack of high-speed signalling.
She told the Journal that without modern signalling the number of trains that could be crammed into peak-hours was limited.
“The only answer to reducing congestion long-term during the peaks is to run trains faster and closer together, which requires digital high capacity signalling.”
VECCI chief executive Mark Stone welcomed the expected job creation and boost to the rail network’s capacity and efficiency.
Expressions of interest for the level crossing removals and the next generation trains will be released to the market within months, the government announced.
