WikiPortallus: List of proposed Melbourne rail extensions.html

In Melbourne's train system several new train lines, electrification of existing lines, extensions to existing lines, and new stations on existing lines, have been proposed by various groups. Some of these plans were so seriously considered at various times that they appeared in the Melway street directory,¹ and on suburban train destination rolls.² As of November 2006 a number of these plans continue to be discussed by the Department of Infrastructure, local councils, and State political parties.

Proposals

Inner city

North South Rail Tunnel

Western suburbs

Werribee line

Melton line

Sydenham Line

Northern suburbs

Melbourne Airport line

Albion-Jacana line

Craigieburn line

The line between Broadmeadows and Craigieburn has been electrified to become the Craigieburn line, with services beginning on 30 September 2007. New stations also proposed for this extension but built as part of the electrification are Patullos station at Patullos Lane, and Coolaroo station at Pascoe Vale Road. During the 2006 State Election campaign, the Government promised to build Coolaroo Station by 2010.¹⁴

Upfield line

North-eastern suburbs

Epping line

Hurstbridge line

Eastern suburbs

Doncaster line

Plans for the Doncaster line first emerged in 1969, when The Age announced that the Victorian Railways had started detailed planning for the line, which would branch off the Hurstbridge/Epping lines at Victoria Park and run down the Eastern Freeway median strip,¹⁹ then to Bulleen Road, Bulleen, where it would travel between houses and proposed tunnels to Doncaster East.²⁰

By 1982 plans to built the line had been shelved by the state government, and by 1984 land for the line once it left the freeway had been sold.¹⁹ More recent proposals have suggested the line would run in a tunnel from Bulleen Road to a station at Doncaster Hill (Shoppingtown), or branch from the proposed Jewell-Windsor line at Parkville station. In this case, an additional station would be built at Carlton before the line reaches the Eastern Freeway.

During the 2006 state election, the Victorian Liberal Party promised to extend the number 48 tram to Doncaster Hill, claiming that constructing the heavy rail line would cost around $1 billion and was deemed too expensive an option.²¹

Lilydale line

Rowville

Alamein line

South-eastern suburbs

Frankston line

Pakenham line

Cranbourne line

Dandenong - Frankston line

Status and future of these proposals

Many of these proposals were created decades ago, and are no longer seriously being considered by transport authorities. Of these, only the Cardinia Road, Coolaroo, Lynbrook and Point Cook stations, and the South Morang line extension are mentioned in the current government's 2006 'Meeting Our Transport Challenges' plans.¹⁴

In the case of South Morang on the Epping Line, both the Department of Infrastructure and the local council have recommended its construction, and development work is being undertaken. This would fulfil a promise by the last Premier, Steve Bracks (who has recently retired, as of mid-2007) upon coming to power in 1999. At the subsequent 2002 election this promise was deferred, with the "Trainlink" bus service discussed below introduced instead. Until recently, this project had been sidelined in favour of the extension of the Broadmeadows line to Craigieburn. The main reason for the delay is the capacity problems on the Epping line (& in turn the Hurstbridge line) mainly related to the various sections of single track. The Meeting our Transport Challenges plan was released by the Government in 2006 and indicates construction could commence between 2016 and 2021.

The Cranbourne East proposal has re-emerged in recent years, and a commercial feasibility study conducted by M>Train, former operator of that half of the city's rail system, found that it should be examined as a long-term project.³⁰

While some of the other proposals here have also come back into the spotlight in recent years, one which might one day be built is the Rowville line. While the Department of Infrastructure does not appear to be taking this seriously at present, the local council has begun a campaign to demand the construction of the line. Mooted routes are from Glen Waverley, tunnelling under residential areas and along the Dandenong Creek valley, or from the Dandenong line near Huntingdale and following the alignment of North and Wellington Roads.²⁴

As a medium-term solution, the government introduced two "Trainlink" bus routes in late 2003. No. 896 serves estates in Cranbourne East and the other, No. 571, is serving Plenty Valley Shopping Centre, Mill Park North, and South Morang. These link to Cranbourne and Epping stations respectively, connecting with each train arrival and departure, seven days a week, from 4:30am to after 1am. These have recently received State Government funding to continue until mid-2009.

List of proposed Melbourne rail extensions.html

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