Fast rail plan ‘troubling’
A KEY proponent of fast rail to Geelong says the city would effectively become a suburb of Melbourne under a plan being considered by the State Government.
Geelong councillor Bruce Harwood has hit out at a proposal for Geelong fast trains to operate via a new rail link that would connect to the proposed Melbourne Metro 2 underground railway.
Such a move would take more than a decade to come to fruition.
It would also involve ditching plans for a new tunnel to be built between Melbourne and Sunshine, which would be a lost opportunity for Geelong rail commuters, according to the former mayor.
“In the view of the Australian Rail Futures Institute … this new state plan would in effect make Geelong a far outer suburb of Melbourne,” Cr Harwood said.
“We would stop at all the metro stations. It wouldn’t be built for a decade or more.
“As new stations were built in between, Melbourne could get even further away.”
Earlier this year, the Federal Government pledged $2 billion towards fast rail between Geelong and Melbourne under a 20-year plan.
That commitment came after the State Government promised a fast rail plan that would reduce journeys to 45 minutes, with construction to begin in 2022 and take about a decade to complete.
Cr Harwood said while Geelong had never been closer to achieving fast rail, he believed things now seemed “much more troubling”.
He said faster and more frequent trains to Melbourne was the city’s most pressing infrastructure priority and, through abandoning the tunnel option, the money promised for fast rail could be frittered away.
“It is important that people in Geelong form a view on such matters and make their views heard,” Cr Harwood said. “We all want faster rail. Until recently, that looked every chance of becoming a reality.
“We should have the courage as a community to have a view on that, and think about what we might be giving up by moving away from a proper fast rail solution.”
The proposal to connect Geelong trains to Melbourne Metro 2 is understood to have been pitched to the Federal Government in an effort to win support for an above-ground airport rail link.
A State Government spokeswoman said it continued to work with Canberra on the best design for airport rail.
Opposition public transport spokesman David Davis said major regional cities, including Geelong, deserved “proper” fast rail and needed it soon.
“The truth is Melbourne Metro 2 is decades away and will cost billions and billions. It’s not even scoped,” he said.
“It’s wrong that our regional cities should be left waiting like Oliver Twist with a begging bowl until a city rail is completed.”