According to this recent poll outlined in The Age Newspaper, a solid majority of Victorians want the Suburban Rail Loop that is almost 3 or of 5 people surveyed.
What is more interesting but not surprising is the project with the lowest support being the North East Link. This project had a margin business case (after pumping it up) prior to the costs doubling meaning the business case now would be at a stage where the project should never have been undertaken. By the time this awful project is nearing completion expect the costs to exceed $30b with no real return in sight.
Money wasted on North East Link by a government controlled by unions for the benefit of their members and not the general public or all Victorians.
Instead this money should have been invested in the Airport Rail Line, the Western Rail Plan and Intermodal terminals or inland ports ensuring trucks can drop off containers in regional centres and not drive into the Port of Melbourne clogging the road network and damaging the roads.
The Suburban Rail Loop is ranked evenly with the Metro Tunnel with the Melbourne Airport Rail Link being the most requested or supported project of the list of infrastructure projects.
The Government with the exception of the Northeast Link no one wanted appears to be focused on the right projects remembering other key rail projects such as the Geelong Fast Rail Upgrade and Western Rail Plan have been left behind leaving the western suburbs in desperate need for rail upgrades standing and platforms.
The take away for me is the public support for public transport projects and especially bus route upgrades. Vicrtoria needs less toll roads and more metrorail services and agree the western rail plan not being undertaken is not a great outcome and places more pressure on road funding for the western suburbs.
Bus routing and timetables have been a problem for years and need upgrades. I would personally have funded the western rail plan to Ballarat before the SRL but certainly before North East Link which is kinda what the polling is saying.
Wondering how much money we have overpaid for the Vic Big Build we are experiencing. Read today it could be as high as $30b stolen from us and repurposed which if true should lead to jail sentences for those responsible it is beyond a joke now.
It seem that those project are very citycentric…..I wonder home many Regional commuters was taken in this poll?
The track upgrades on the Warrnambool Line from what I understand read from their government page, not all crossing will be removed, and seem to defeat the purpose of replacing the N set when Velocities DMUs are not going able to operate and higher track speeds on the route when it reopens again!
I wonder if some special arrangements were made for certain government officials between groups?
Airport line insisted they don’t go direct to the Airport forcing traveller who need to catch planes to take the scenic route!