Politicians have been influencing the direction of Melbourne’s rail network for decades, but down on the Frankston line the removal of the North Road, McKinnon Road and Centre Road level crossings has seen the decisions of two former political foes collide, with no acknowledgement from either side.
On August 1st trains returned to the Frankston line after a five week long shutdown that allowed the tracks to be lowered beneath Centre, McKinnon and North Roads, eliminating three level crossings. A media release was released by the State Government to celebrate the completed works, but the ‘facts’ included within deserve further examination.
I’ve written before about lack of detail made available when planning transport projects in Victoria, but the latest revelation at Ormond station takes the cake – halfway through removing the level crossing, the government has announced plans to build a residential tower up to 13 storeys high above the Frankston railway line. So what the hell is going on?
The other day at Camberwell railway station I spotted two out of place advertisements – the first for a lawyer located in Highett, and the second for the Sunday market held in Bentleigh. Neither sign seems relevant to people travelling through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs by rail – so how did they end up there?
There are many things wrong with transport planning in Victoria, but today I’m going to look at a new theme – the way that the general public are drip fed information about new public transport projects.
