NEWS DESK
Buses better than extending electric train line - report Brodie Cowburn brodie@mpnews.com.au A NEW report by Infrastructure Victoria recommends improving bus services in Frankston rather than extending the electric train service to Baxter. Infrastructure Victoria released its updated 30-year strategy last week. The organisation is an independent body that advises the state government on its projects. Among the recommendations included in the report was to investigate the rollout of more bus services in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula in the next year “instead of progressing a rail extension to Baxter”. The report said a preliminary business case had considered rail and bus options to improve public transport between Frankston and Baxter, but recommended “this network reform should consider the role of ‘next generation’ bus services”. Modelling rail extensions in other outer suburban growth areas found they could “encourage more people to move further out”. “An extension of the Frankston line could create extra pressure for new housing developments in environmentally sensitive and agriculturally important places on the Mornington Peninsula,” the report stated. It said the Frankston station precinct, a designated multi-modal transit interchange, “should be the hub for bet-
ter bus connections to the Frankston metropolitan activity centre, railway station, Chisolm TAFE and Frankston Hospital”. “As the station precinct develops, it will require an inter-modal terminal upgrade and more bus services to help manage traffic flow and congestion [and building on] the Victorian government’s funded improved bus services to the Mornington Peninsula”. The proposed duplication and electrification of the Frankston line to Baxter has been stationary for years. A business case released last year put the full cost of the project at an eye-watering $1.3 to $1.5 billion. The federal government has committed $225 million to the extension, but the state government has not climbed aboard. The release of the latest Infrastructure Victoria report shocked some groups who have long been advocating for the extension of the line. CEO business lobby group Committee for Greater Frankston, Ginevra Hosking, said “Frankston’s residents have been thrown under a bus. Commonwealth money is on the table to build the Frankston extension today, yet the state recommends even more studies. “The final report is saying another five years is needed for feasibility studies but in the meantime next generation buses will do. It’s again kicking the can down the road. The public benefits of the rail extension have been well documented, widely circulated in the community, and strongly supported by our
region’s major organisations. Ongoing delays like this place the $225 million funding for the extension in jeopardy. “Providing a metro-standard train service to the [Monash University] campus is one of the compelling reasons for the long-awaited rail extension. A station near Monash would enable six-times as many students to access the campus by rail. “The report recognised that Frankston’s multi-modal transit interchange – situated right in the middle of the CBD – is unable to handle high traffic volumes, and needs upgrading, so how will sending more buses there solve our problems?” At a launch for the report at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia last week, Infrastructure Victoria CEO Michel Masson said “our final recommendations consider the medium to longer-term impacts of the global pandemic. Despite the current challenges, Victoria will continue to grow and transform”. “Our 30-year roadmap outlines how Victoria can make the most of the infrastructure we already have while ensuring new infrastructure, such as road and rail projects, deliver maximum value to areas where it is needed most.” The state government is expected to respond to the strategy’s recommendations and its own integrated five-year infrastructure plan sometime in the next year.
Attention Schools, sporting clubs & community groups
Free advertising listings Each month the Mornington News will run a Community Events page, where your school or organisation can promote upcoming events, fund raisers, social events, etc. at no charge. This page is sponsored by the Mornington Village Shopping Centre and listings are completely free. Listings should be about 40 words and include event name, date, time & address.
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Mornington News
24 August 2021
ANOTHER boom gate goes from the Frankston line. Picture: LXRP
Station rebuilds on track FOUR sets of boom gates have been removed as part of Frankston line level crossing removal works. Last month between 26 July and 29 July, boom gates were removed at Edithvale Road, Chelsea Road, Argyle Avenue, and Bondi Road. Bonbeach, Edithvale, and Chelsea stations were all destroyed, with a rebuild imminent. Trains will run express through Edithvale, Chelsea, and Bonbeach. until 13 September when buses will replace trains between Mordialloc, Frankston and Stony Point. The three rebuilt stations are expected to be open by November. A statement on the Level Cross-
ing Removal project website read “we understand that the next few months are going to be challenging for residents, traders and commuters — particularly along the Nepean Highway and Station Street — as we deliver one of the biggest projects we’ve undertaken. Completing all the works at once significantly reduces the total disruption period”. Late last month, the state government announced that boom gates at Parkers Road, Parkdale and Warrigal Road, Mentone would be removed. The preferred solution for the project is to build rail bridges between Mentone and Parkdale.
DO YOU HAVE CCTV CAMERAS? VICTORIA POLICE WOULD LIKE YOUR HELP. If you have CCTV that covers driveways, front yards, streets, rear laneways and security doorbells that activate when pressed, then Mornington Police Station would like to add this to our secure database. Contact Mornington Police Station via email MORNINGTON.UNI@police.vic.gov.au or call 5970 4900. All we need is a contact name, address, contact number, camera locations and how long the footage is stored - we will do the rest. Your footage could help us solve a crime.