· Rail is more environmentally sustainable
· There is social isolation for people who cannot otherwise get around
· It will remove car-dependency - ie remove need for additional cars per household which are expensive
· The rail line should be in place and supported by a network of buses before people move into new residential areas so they never need to buy extra cars
· Fuel prices are at historically high levels and rising
· The area is a major Melbourne growth corridor
· Not everyone can drive eg youth, seniors, disabled, etc
· Congestion on roads is increasing and people need an alternative
· It is faster than other Public Transport modes and hence more competitive with private car and bus
· It will help divert traffic off Plenty Road
· It connects to an important Melbourne 2030 activity centre adjacent to the Plenty Valley Town Centre Shopping Centre
· It would provide a high speed backbone to the public transport system in the area
· It would serve the employment precinct planned for McDonalds/Plenty Roads
· It would enable access to the re-located fruit and vegetable market in Cooper Street
· It would assist in the transfer of school children with the Catholic School (both Primary and Secondary) now proposed to be built on the Mill Park Lake Estate.
2. There are no significant capacity issues on the Epping line that would prevent the rail extension. Connex has already conducted major works, which has strengthened the line including replacement of timber sleepers with concrete sleepers laid on a number of areas from Clifton Hill to Keon Park. However, improvements to rail infrastructure (eg at Clifton Hill) will still be required for long term capacity improvements, but this is a separate issue and not a pre-requisite for the South Morang extension. Existing solutions include:
· Running the loop clockwise all the time
· Running some services only to Keon Park where there is a crossover
3. The Clifton Hill Rail Group Review:
· Is rejected by the Alliance as a reason for not proceeding with the rail extension
· Is a highly political document
· Contains a lot of information that is irrelevant to the rail extension
· Contains unsourced claims and statistics
· Features incomplete and misleading information
· Document scope has clearly been extended from the 2002 election promise to investigate the Hurstbridge Line in response to strong public pressure for the rail extension.
· Mentions the Trainlink bus service but not the government’s promise on the rail extension
· Does not mention the obvious solution of running the loop clockwise all day
4. Plenty Road duplication:
Any money spent on this should be matched with funding for the rail extension
This is the link to the home page of the Alliance
Federal government $80 million promise
Use this link to find out more information about the federal Treasurer's $80 million commitement to fund road works associated with the extension
Contact the Secretary at secretary.smra@hotmail.com
This is the site of the proposed South Morang rail station. It is on the corner of MacDonalds Road and Civic Drive opposite the entrance to the Council chambers. The hump running through the centre of the photo is the remains of the rail line that originally ran all the way from Epping to Whittlesea. The government still owns this rail reserve so cannot use the excuse of land aquisition costs to stall the project.
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This photograph looks east from the Trainlink bus stop at Epping rail station. It can take up to 4 minutes for a person with a disability to get from this stop to the Epping station platform during which time they have miseed the connecting train. This bus service is no substitute for the rail extension
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Epping station is not the end of the line for residents of South Morang but it might be the end of our local MPs Lily D'Ambrosio, Danielle Green and Peter Batchelor if they don't fund the extension in the next state budget.
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