RAIL upgrades, including the removal of Werribee’s notorious Cherry Street level crossing, will benefit Wyndham commuters more than the east-west link, the state’s public transport lobby says.
In a budget submission released last week, the Public Transport Users Association urged the federal government to help bankroll grade separations to provide “genuine relief from traffic congestion” and duplicate the Altona loop on the Werribee line.
Association president Tony Morton said the work should be funded by scrapping the east-west link.
He urged the federal government not to waste “scarce funding” on road projects with costs that exceeded benefits.
The proposed 18-kilometre east-west link would join the Eastern Freeway, CityLink and the Western Ring Road with a second river crossing. Opponents quote Sir Rod Eddington’s 2008 study, which found the project would cost several billion dollars more than the value of any benefits it would deliver.
“Those funds could be much better used elsewhere,” Dr Morton said.
“Long-lasting relief from congestion, that doesn’t just encourage more car traffic, relies on expanding the reach of fast and frequent public transport.”
Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber agreed, arguing that for the cost of the project Melbourne could have a “dream public transport system”.
The PTUA’s submission named 23 level crossing across Melbourne as priorities for grade separation work.
It said removing the Cherry Street level crossing in Werribee would allow for increased train services on the Werribee and Geelong lines and reduce delays for route 439, 443, 441 and 446 buses.
Wyndham Council and the state opposition have called for the removal of the crossing due to safety fears, which escalated when a freight train killed a Truganina woman, 65, last May when her car became stuck on the tracks.
The crossing was ranked 13th in a 2008 report listing the state’s most dangerous level crossings.
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury reaffirmed a $379 million government commitment to abolish Melbourne’s level crossings, but would not say when Cherry Street’s would be removed.
Anton Mayer, chairman of western suburbs lobby group LeadWest, said transport funding was not “black or white, roads or public transport”.
“The west needs a better public transport offering, but not at the expense of a major project like the east-west link,” he said.
“A second strategic river crossing is critical.”
