THE Labor state government says regional passengers from cities such as Geelong will be the big winners of its multi-billion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop, but the Liberals have criticised the proposal as short on detail.<\/p>\n
Announced on Tuesday by Premier Daniel Andrews, the project \u2013 which will take decades to build \u2013 will create 12 new underground train stations and connect every major regional train line, in an arc stretching from the Geelong line to the Gippsland line through Melbourne Airport.<\/p>\n
Labor says Geelong passengers will no longer have to travel through the centre of Melbourne to reach education and health services such as the Monash and Austin hospitals, and will also benefit from the \u201cregional super-hubs\u201d to be created at Sunshine, Broadmeadows and Clayton.<\/p>\n
If elected, Labor will put $300 million towards creating a business case, planning and pre-construction works for the Suburban Rail Loop, with work on the first sections in Melbourne\u2019s south-east between Cheltenham and Box Hill to begin by 2022.<\/p>\n
Labor says the loop will create 20,000 jobs and that modelling projects it will have 400,000 trips a day by 2051, making it Victoria\u2019s busiest rail line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re already getting on with fixing the Geelong line \u2013 including a massive boost to train services and a promise to duplicate to Waurn Ponds \u2013 and thanks to this, locals will have access to the very best public transport system,\u201d Bellarine MP Lisa Neville said.<\/p>\n
However, Shadow Treasurer Michael O\u2019Brien says Labor \u201ccan\u2019t say how much it will cost or if there will be new taxes to fund it\u201d. Early estimates have pegged the price tag at $50 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe devil is in the detail which is why this idea needs to be sent to Infrastructure Victoria for proper assessment, costing and planning beyond today\u2019s media event,\u201d Mr O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter all that\u2019s why the Andrews Government set up Infrastructure Victoria in the first place, to allegedly \u2018take the politics out of infrastructure\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regional Cities Victoria chair Margaret O\u2019Rourke said the Suburban Rail Loop was an ambitious, long-term project, but \u201cmuch like the Airport Rail project, it must be developed as a project integrating the rail network across the whole of Victoria, not just suburban Melbourne\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Labor state government says regional passengers from cities such as Geelong will be the big winners of its multi-billion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop, but the Liberals have criticised the proposal as short on detail. Announced on Tuesday by Premier Daniel Andrews, the project \u2013 which will take decades to build \u2013 will create 12 new […]<\/p>\n