It was with much fanfare that the Andrews government announced the suburban rail loop three months before the 2018 election, but since then there have been red flags on the runway.
The last problem is the poor integration of the proposed new stations with the existing ones at Glen Waverley, Box Hill and Cheltenham. Local mayors want a rethink, so travelers won’t have to leave one station to get in another and keep distances short.
Travelers face a disconnected connection between Box Hill Station (pictured) and the new loop line. Credit: Eddie Jim
The government calls the suburban rail loop “city formation” and argues that we need it to complement the core and radio train system that carries passengers on the CBD. Sounds like a good idea, but there has been a litany of problems.
Mayors are right: the project needs a rethink, not just stations, but lock, stock and barrel.
The Suburban Rail Loop is a 90-kilometer passenger railway line that will run around the city, from Cheltenham, through the eastern and northern suburbs, to the airport and to Werribee. Sections from Cheltenham to the airport are scheduled to be completed in a few decades, at a cost of between $ 30 billion and $ 50 billion. It is the largest public transport project ever undertaken in Australia.
Suburban Rail Loop is not only the largest, but also one of the least examined projects in the recent history of Australia. The project was not on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list. It was not in the state government’s “Melbourne Plan” plan. Infrastructure Victoria did not recommend the project and was not consulted before the government announcement. Neither the cabinet nor the Department of Transportation. Instead, the project had been worked on by Development Victoria, reportedly with the knowledge of only four ministers.
Suburban railroad planned by Andrews government. Credit:
It has not yet reached the most preliminary stage of Infrastructure Australia’s priority list, but that did not stop Anthony Albanese, in the midst of the election campaign, from pledging $ 2.2 billion in federal government money for the project.
This project is full of risks. Grattan Institute research shows that larger projects are riskier projects; projects with first-announced costs of more than $ 1 billion cost almost half the time, and the average cost increase is 30 percent. And if the project is announced near an election, the average overhead is 23 more than for similar projects announced at other times.