New track diagrams show rail lines from Melbourne’s west are likely to have to limit services running through the $15 billion Metro Tunnel once it opens.
Only recently it was confirmed a much lower number of trains will use the tunnel less than what was promised in the business case due to improper delivery of the project a cost cutting.
Now with the planning of the Melbourne Airport Line to use existing Metro Tunnel tracks rather than a dedicated set of tracks that was proposed with the initial design as a direct service to the airport running under highpoint shopping centre there will be less non airport line trains in the metro tunnel.
Then came the muilti-billion dollar sunshine station rebuild that no one can understand including a design that will curtail freight train access to Tottenham Yard. This is to cost $4b.
There is also the terrible design and plan for unnecessary skyrail at Melton some 50kms from the city (not exactly an inner suburb of Melbourne) delivering very little to the rail passengers of Melton but making driving around Melton an upgrade. This level crossing removal will make future rail upgrades prohibitive and not deliver the changes Melton requires.
There are still those on social media who still remain hitched to skyrail as a means of level crossing removal whatever the cost and would prefer to see diesel trains continue to grace our suburbs for short journeys. They are the same people who will not acknowledge diesel fumes are a major issue for the public and workers at Southern Cross Station even with the government aware of the issues as is the station authority.
Recently the Southern Cross Station Authority has banned anyone trying to take air quality readings at the station or in the vicinity of the station.
There are still no plans to deliver electrification for the western rail plan still decades away.
Transport Victoria are again lurching again from crisis to crisis when it should be from celebration to celebration.
The poor infrastruture planning approach continues in Victoria and it is costing taxpayers years of deficits.
Can high capacity signalling help this planning error?
Why not run some trains from the airport directly to north Melbourne and southern cross rather than all airport line trains via the metro tunnel. There will be capacity for this with Sunbury trains using the tunnel.
At what stage was the Airport rail planned to dive under Highpoint West Shopping Centre?
Back over a decade ago when the airport line raised it head again, when remembering the federal government offered to pay the full price of the rail line to Tullamarine for the state government in the 1990’s the feds offered money for an underground line between the city and the airport via Maribyrnong. This was proposed with attached funding but the state government rejected this and wanted the line to go via Sunshine to service both Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong lines.
What should be clear is Geelong line trains should now run via the Newport option as sparks taking capacity off the RRL and freeing this up for the airport line trains.
If I remember the cost of the federal funded airport line in the 1990’s was less than $1b and was to be 100% funded by the federal government.
Jeff Kennett rejected the proposal from Canberra for the rail line to the airport to be paid for in full.
Why is it so that most of what Victoria does is not planned and substandard.