In yet another expensive solution looking for a significant problem that does not exist and in a time when Victoria has already overspent on infrastructure investment we find the bizarre team at Transport Victoria and the Level Crossing Removal Authority looking to again find ways to spend money on problems that do not exist.
There is not a problem at all with Melton Station other than it could use a lick of paint, if there is any problem then it does not involve the rail network. At this time and on the back of worthless projects like the North East Link (a road without a business case nor a reason for building it) a $30b financial black hole, there will be some in the government who will sing from the hilltops or the top of the skyrail how important this $850m investment in Melton is however it is not. They are again being less than truthful a serial behaviour in Victoria.
If there are roads that require level crossing removals in the Melton area then let’s address those by putting the road under the rail line as has been the successful outcome in Werribee and Hoppers Crossing. This much cheaper approach to solving the “level crossing removal” is more economic and manageable but there are those in the government who are hooked on the Kool-Aid.
There is no need to build a skysail at Melton on a rail line that has different issues not solved by this Skyrail Boondoggle. Sure there will be a time in the next 10 years when more tracks will be required at Melton (some they are already required) and they will be easily constructed without a skyrail being in place. There is no design for Melton that has additional tracks.
At Melton, V/Line could have their own platforms and Metro their own or make the entire line a Metro Service Line or a V/Line service line.
The intelligent beings amongst us (they are not in the government) would already be saying make the Ballarat Line electrified entirely to Melbourne and remove polluting diesel trains from the network to Ballarat. This would decarbonise the first V/Line network service (there is not even a plan to remove diesel trains from short service lines) and reduce poor air quality at Southern Cross Station.
This would be a better outcome allowing 4 tracks at Melton for the purposes of express services between Ballarat and Melbourne with some trains from Melbourne terminating at Melton.
I not sure what planet these Level Crossing removal guys are on but at $850m this would surely be enough for 2 bridges (road under rail) in Melton and electrification of 100kms of important track and a new station at Melton.
Let me say that again, a budget for $2m per kilometre for electrification and associated sidings and yards, that is $200m, plus add the road bridges for $120m each and then Melton Station at $30m is just above half of the other suggested solution. This is more than enough to make the Melton area and the entire Ballarat Line a much better solution and run on renewable energy from the government who thinks the state can run on a large battery.
As a component of the solution for Ballarat and Melton, order a series of inter city EMU trains to run Ballarat to Melbourne and then look to expand the electrification to Geelong from Melbourne and possibly Geelong to Ballarat.
An outstanding and sensible solution that is not understood by a government who has shown time and time again they cannot get this right and is prepared to pay 2-4 times the price of what works are worth to the unions who do the work.
It is now beyond embarrassing.
Why don’t the stupid fools at Transport Victoria think like this person does. Long term thinking, what is best for the passenger not the road user and all changes actually improve the network. The current approach for Melton improves traffic flow and is not good for rail network at all.
The current proposal and plan or record is for the skyrail and many changes that will not improve the rail network and the passenger experience at all.
In fact it will ensure upgrades to Melton are far more expensive than would have been had a non skyrail approach been taken.
This has some merit in that it does address the elephant in the room which is the disgusting smell of diesel fumes very harmful at Southern Cross not action is being taken. Ballarat frequency with the intermediate stations demands a long overdue electrification system. Why would you only do 2/3rds of a line that has a substantial regional city and the end? You would not of course and you extend to cover Melbourne and Ballarat. This would be the case everywhere else in the world looking at this problem.
There is already a need for additional tracks on the Ballarat corridor a single line network with growth exceeding all expectations on the line already with housing heading west along the line.