Regional Rail Link

We start the month like many others, with progress on the Regional Rail Link project through Melbourne’s west.

The old West Footscray station was still in place beneath ‘Mount Mistake‘.

But the new station to the west was well underway.

Being constructed clear of the existing tracks to avoid disruption to Sunbury line services.

Down the line at Sunshine similar thoughtful works were underway – the level crossing at Anderson Road had been relocated clear of the grade separation works.

So that the future rail bridge could be constructed clear of the tracks, and slid into place when complete.

Meanwhile on the greenfield section of the route, the new Tarneit station had everything in place except for tracks!

Ballan Road had a road bridge passing over an incomplete rail cutting.

Wyndham Vale had pedestrian bridge ready to cross a future four track, four platform station.

And Manor Junction had a massive flyover in place over the Geelong line tracks, but with nothing connecting at either end.

Other train bits

One evening I passed through Newmarket station and found it in the dark – a tree took out the mains power supply to the station.

So somewhat surprisingly, electricians were sent out to connect a generator to the switchboard.

After sitting empty for a decade, in 2013 work finally started on the office towers above the west end of Southern Cross Station.

699 Bourke Street at the north end was first to be completed in 2015, followed by 664 Collins Street at the south end in 2019.

I also paid a visit to Dandenong South, where I found something different sitting dumped beside the tracks.

Comeng carriages 305M, 1003T and 306M stored in the Membreys Transport yard, after being damaged in the November 2012 level crossing crash at Abbotts Road in Dandenong South.

Ding ding

Preparation for the introduction of the new E class trams was underway on route 96, with the inaccessible safety zones along Nicholson Street being extended so the rear doors of the longer trams would not overhang into traffic.

This interim fix remained in place until 2018, when they were finally replaced by accessible platform stops.

And the other bits

On Swanston Street in the CBD I found the Victoria Police bicycle squad on patrol.

But they didn’t seem to be making much of a difference to the dingbats driving down the bike lanes.

Out at Maribyrnong a brand new two-storey Bunnings Warehouse opened – the $45 million store being located around the corner from the old one at Highpoint, and at more than 17,000 square metres, was three times the size of the old one.

And around the corner at West Footscray another Bunnings Warehouse was being constructed – on the former Southern Can Company factory site, with the front office block retained, but the warehouse being being demolished to make way for a hardware store with basement car park.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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The confusion starts

In June 2021 a BP service station on the Western Freeway was reported as an exposure site.

New exposure site
BP Service Station- Westbound (outbound)
Address: 1789 Western Freeway, Truganina, VIC
Date: 13/07/2021
Time: 7:15am – 7:50am

Tier 1 – Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure #COVID19VIC

— VicExposureSiteBot (@ExposureSiteBot) July 17, 2021

But when you put the address into Google Maps, it shows that the service station is nowhere near Truganina – it’s north of the next suburb over, Ravenhall.

aha! so it's google maps that's wrong. pic.twitter.com/f6TRPurzJc

— ken tsang (@jxeeno) July 16, 2021

Yet Google Maps also lists the service station’s address as being in Truganina.

Google maps has it as truganina…? pic.twitter.com/3fd1U8N0JS

— Patrick Malone (@pattymalone2000) July 16, 2021

So what gives?

So where is Truganina?

To get a definitive answer on the suburb’s boundaries, I turned to the Victorian Register of Geographic Names. Turns out Truganina is a massive suburb, covering 56 square kilometres.

Stretching 15 kilometres from the Western Freeway, Rockbank station and the Ballarat railway line in the north.

Down to Hoppers Crossing and Williams Landing in the south – almost reaching the Princes Freeway and Werribee railway line.

So time to explore!

The southern end of Truganina is cookie cutter housing estates just like any other growth area of Melbourne.

The selling point being the (relatively!) low prices for land.

And V/Line trains to Southern Cross Station, which use the Regional Rail Link route opened in 2015.

Westbourne Grammar School also has a campus here, opened back in 1977 when the area was just paddocks.

But residential development continues creeping north over what was once grazing land.

Then we meet fields of tilt slab concrete warehouses, home to over 1,500 registered business, both large and small.

Then we reach the centre of ‘old’ Truganina – the local cemetery.

Located next door to a pony club.

Unlike Tarneit the only high ground is a handful of road-over-rail bridges, which provide a view of the Melbourne CBD, located 20 kilometres away to the east.

But it is massive warehouses that dominate the skyline of Truganina.

Towering over the railway lines.

The biggest being a pair of 43 metre tall automated cold storage facilities, capable of holding 225,000 pallets of frozen goods.

But hidden between them is something much smaller – the Truganina Munitions Reserve, established during the Second World War to store explosives in what was then an isolated area, but now abandoned and vandalised.

We now head out into the countryside.

A few farm houses still remain.

The roads now full of traffic, used by motorists taking a shortcut from the Western Freeway.

We skirt the massive rubbish tip located at Boral’s quarry in Ravenhall.

And find high voltage power lines bound for Geelong.

And some even bigger power lines bound for the Portland aluminium smelter.

Until we eventually reach the Ballarat railway line.

Here we find Truganina’s second front of urban development.

Moving south-east from Rockbank station.

With new houses taking shape.

On roads stained by red dirt.

Filling the paddocks between Mount Atkinson and Mount Cottrell.

Fifteen kilometres from where we started – no wonder nobody knows where Truganina is!

Footnote – border changes

Truganina falls between the City of Wyndham and City of Melton, but the name has a long history – the local post office opened on 12 June 1878, closed in 1895, reopened in 1902 and closed again in 1942.

In 1992 southern boundaries were formalised by the then-City of Werribee, with public consultation showing concern that the historic value of the Truganina, Tarneit and Mount Cottrell names may be lost if they were absorbed into neighbouring localities.

Victorian Government Gazette 1 July 1992

The boundaries for the southern half of Truganina again gazetted in 1998, and are still in place today.

City of Wyndham locality names and boundaries – Version 5.7 August 2021

However the northern boundaries in the City of Melton have seen some change, since Ravenhall and Truganina gazetted as suburbs in 2006.

Shire of Melton locality names and boundaries – Version 4.4a August 2006

The boundary being moved north in 2017, when the City of Melton created eleven new suburbs to cater for urban growth in formerly rural areas.

City of Melton locality names and boundaries – Version 4.6 February 2017

The changes were minor – but made Truganina even bigger!

The northern boundary will extend along the Western Freeway eastbound from Clarke Road to Troups Road North. The western boundary will align with Troups Road North southbound from the Western Freeway to Greigs Road. The boundary continues westbound along Greigs Road to Troups Road South, extending southbound along Troups Road South to Boundary Road.

The southern and eastern boundaries remain unchanged.

The area now being developed was added to Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundary in 2010 following the passing of Amendment VC68.

Delivering Melbourne’s newest sustainable communities

So the failure to split out the northern half of Truganina in 2017 as a new suburb seems quite odd – it’s not like the new housing estates were a sudden change.

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Caroline Springs

We start out at Caroline Springs station, located between town and the tip.

A massive car park the only neighbour.

And the only footpath out of there filled with a fleet of rubbish trucks.

But the land in between is about to be developed.

Into a ‘fulfilment centre’ for Amazon.

Amazon Australia will open a second Melbourne fulfilment centre (FC) in Ravenhall late next year, creating around 300 jobs on completion and more than doubling Amazon’s operational footprint in Victoria.

The new facility will be located at Dexus’ Horizon 3023 estate, a 127-hectare site which adjoins Caroline Springs train station and is close to the proposed Western Intermodal Freight Terminal. Dexus has commenced works on the site, supporting more than 200 construction jobs over the development and fit-out phase. The lease for the centre was facilitated by CBRE’s Industrial & Logistics business.

The new fulfilment centre will be 37,000 square metres – almost double the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground – with capacity to house up to six million items ranging from health, household and personal care products, consumer electronics, books, clothing and pantry food and drink staples, to larger items like flat screen TVs, cartons of soft drink or nappies, and gardening equipment.

Minister for Economic Development Tim Pallas said today that attracting investment from significant global companies such as Amazon, is critical to drive our economic recovery.

“Amazon’s investment in a second fulfilment centre will bring hundreds of jobs to the western suburbs of Melbourne, providing local employment opportunities in suburban growth areas,” he said.

“We welcome this investment as a clear indicator of confidence in the state.”

AKA a big tin shed.

Tarneit

Tarneit is another railway station on the edge of Melbourne.

New housing estates sprawling across the plains.

Served by a sea of car parking.

But the Truganina Precinct Structure Plan has designated the area around the railway station as a future town centre.

But what is the first commercial development in the new town centre?

Bunnings will be the first of many retailers that will be making up ‘Tarneit Park Hub’ – the shopping precinct of our planned Town centre at Westbrook.

Bunnings Warehouse has responded to the growth of Melbourne’s western corridor, committing to a new 16,500sqm warehouse in Tarneit Park Hub.

Ranfurlie Asset Management, the retail and commercial division of the Dennis Family, is developing Tarneit Park Hub, which will total 46,000sqm when complete.

“We are excited to have secured Bunnings. It cements Tarneit Park Hub as a key retail and lifestyle asset for the region,” stated Mark Wilson, CEO of Ranfurlie Asset Management.

“Tarneit Park Hub answers the demand from the community for greater amenity, with great access, proximity to public transport and adjoining Tarneit Central it sets an excellent foundation to further enhance the precinct and build on what is already a thriving centre.” concluded Mr Wilson

Tom Perkins of Leedwell Property said that “Bunnings is a great anchor for Tarneit Park Hub. The ability to generate foot-fall seven days a week and its brand recognition in a community is unparalleled. We have recently completed leasing on a number of new developments anchored by a Bunnings and they have proven to attract quality, national retailers around them.”

Yes, another tin shed!

Imagine how bad these development would be without structure plans?

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Cowies Hill is located between Sayers Road and Leakes Road, with Tarneit Road skirting the edge – but this isn’t an original feature.

Early years

Once upon a time the only feature atop Cowies Hill was a pair of Melbourne Water storage tanks.

Google Earth, March 2004

Surrounded empty paddocks.

Google Street View, December 2009

With Tarneit Road climbing straight up and over the hill.

Melway map 202 (1999)

Development commences

In 2000, Wyndham City Council received an application for the development of the land bordered by Sayers Road, Derrimut Road, Leakes Road and Davis Road, with the Cowies Hill Outline Development Plan prepared to guide the development and subdivision of this area.

Developer Peet purchased 65 hectares of land on Cowies Hill for $7.23 million in 2002, with the $83.4 million residential development ‘Tarneit Rise’ featuring 627 residential lots, a child-care centre site and a school site commenced in 2006, with views across the plains featuring strongly in promotional material from the developer.

Get in on the ground floor…

Can you see it? A safe place to bring up kids amongst new friends with every amenity. For those with a little imagination and a desire for a better life, The Rise, Tarneit could be the opportunity of a lifetime.

Rise above it all

Aspiring families now have the chance to own some of the best land in the fast-growing City of Wyndham. The Rise, Tarneit has the most elevated land in Wyndham with sweeping views of the surrounding hinterland. From the apex of The Rise, you can see the CBD skyline, Mount Macedon and the You Yangs.

Houses soon starting to creep north towards the hill.

Google Earth, February 2006

By 2009 the hill was surrounded.

Google Earth, December 2009

Tarneit Road still running due north.

Google Street View, February 2010

But a road deviation had appeared in the Melway.

Melway map 202 (unknown date)

Matching concept plans created by Peet for the ‘Tarneit Gardens‘ estate.

By 2012 the realignment of Tarneit Road around Cowies Hill was complete.

Google Earth, September 2012

Kulana Lane, Tableland Road and Thwaites Road taking over the old alignment.

Google Street View, April 2014

But the water tower was still visible.

Google Street View, February 2014

Until the last houses were built along the former Tarneit Road alignment in 2019.

Google Street View, August 2019

So when was the deviation completed?

I figured that finding the date for the realignment of a main road would be easy to find in the Government Gazette, but I came up blank.

The reason being the land was never rezoned – the old Tarneit Road alignment is still designated as ‘Road Zone Category 2’.

But I eventually found my answer.

Victoria Government Gazette
28 July 2011

Geographic Place Names Act 1998
Notice of Registration of Geographic Names

The Registrar of Geographic Names hereby gives notice of the registration of the undermentioned place names

CR32618
Thwaites Road
Tarneit
Wyndham City Council

Formerly known as part of Tarneit Road (between Leakes Road and Sayers Road).

Footnote on the water tanks

The water tanks atop Cowies Hill are connected to the Melbourne Water network by a 17-kilometre long pipeline from St Albans, with $30 million spent in 2015 to upgrade the main to supply up to 200 million litres of water a day. Cowies Hill is also where the Geelong and Melbourne water networks meet, following the completion of a 59 kilometre long pipeline to Lovely Banks in 2012.

And Tarneit Gardens Shopping Centre

In December 2011 Matthew Guy, Minister for Planning used Section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to rezone six hectares of land on Tarneit Road at Cowies Hill from Residential 1 to Business 1 following a request for intervention by Peet Tarneit Gardens Syndicate Limited, developer of the site.

His reasoning at the time included:

Benefits of exemption

The main benefit of the exemption is that it will enable a prompt decision to be made on the adoption and approval of the amendment. The amendment will contribute to the fair and orderly development of land in accordance with section 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 by providing residents in Tarneit and Tarneit West with proximate access to local retail, commercial/office and community facilities. This will not only provide neighbouring residents with conveniently located retail and community services but the provision of office floor space will also provide for local business and employment opportunities.

Effects of Exemption on Third Parties

The effects of the exemption will be that third parties will not have the opportunity to make a formal submission to the planning authority and to have this considered by an independent panel.
Wyndham City Council has provided written support for the rezoning.

I have considered the potential effects of the Amendment on the Council. Consultation with Council officers occurred during the preparation of the Development Plan which has since been approved by Council. The Council will also retain responsibility for considering and approving any planning permits associated with the further development of the site.
Given the proposal’s high level of compatibility with State and Local planning policy, and the existing development plan approval it is likely that, even were submissions to be considered, the amendment would be approved generally in accordance with this approved amendment.

An Addendum to the Development Plan outlining the layout of a town centre at Tarneit Gardens has been approved by Council. A Masterplan for the site indicating the future location for the Neighbourhood Activity Centre was provided to adjoining land owners with their Contract of Sale.

Assessment as to whether benefits of exemptions outweigh effects on third parties

I have determined that any potential impact would not outweigh the benefits of expediting this amendment. The amendment will facilitate development in an area lacking access to retail services with the nearest retail provision currently over three kilometres from the site. Accordingly I consider that the benefits of exempting myself from sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the exemption on third parties.

The end result was Amendment C153, permitting a maximum combined leasable shop floor area of 8,000 m2 and office floor area of 4,000 m2 – one of many planning interventions Matthew Guy made for favoured property developers across Melbourne.

And the ‘Verdant Hill’ estate

Around the corner is the ‘Verdant Hill’ estate, which features neither trees or hills.

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Planning the new railway

During construction of the new railway, the Regional Rail Link Authority was selling a “no freight trains” message to interested parties, such as former PTUA president Daniel Bowen:

Freight will not be permitted on the new line between Manor and Deer Park – sounds like the relevant authorisations under noise standards only cover passenger trains.

The Regional Rail Link Authority “Noise Impact Management Report” dated 9 December 2010 intentionally ignored rail freight, as freight trains were not intended to use the new railway (bold is my emphasis):

This Noise Impact Management Report is for Section 2 of the RRL, from the Deer Park
Bypass to West Werribee Junction. This section of the RRL is predominantly a greenfield
corridor, with no existing railway infrastructure, except near the tie-ins to existing track
infrastructure at each end.

Rolling stock that will use the RRL alignment will include:

• VLocity and Sprinter diesel multiple units (DMUs)
• N class locomotives
• P class locomotives

It is expected that newer VLocity type rolling stock will eventually replace the older N and
P class locomotives and carriages that are currently being used. Freight is not proposed for the RRL and has not been considered as part of this study.

The noise impacts of the project was also examined during the planning and approval process, with an advisory committee was established by the Victorian Minister for Planning. Their final report dated 23 January 2012 raised a number of concerns:

The Draft Noise Management Plan does not provide an appropriate response to operational noise impacts; planned future stabling yards have not been accounted for. The noise consequences of possible freight traffic on RRL2 received only scant attention.

Four submissions to the committee referenced rail freight noise, with the submission from the Dennis Family and Davis Family stating:

The community investment in this rail infrastructure carries the reasonable expectation that it would be used efficiently in order to maximise its utility. It will not always be just a regional service.

Activities and operations that have the capacity to operate on the RRL2 without further approval (for example, metro and freight trains, and increase in frequency) will increase the noise levels experienced and should be addressed

A submission from the Wyndham City Council also held concerns:

The operation of freight trains along the RRL corridor cannot be prevented and rail freight noise mitigation measures need to be considered in the Noise Management Plan, given that Section 251B of the Victorian Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983 does not apply to any noise emanating from freight rolling stock.

However the Regional Rail Link Authority still dodged the subject of rail freight noise:

The RRLA expressed the view that it is important to distinguish between what is currently proposed and the reservation of capacity by the RRL2 designers for possible future rail infrastructure and submitted that:

• The EES referral explains that RRL2 ‘makes provision’ for the future construction of two freight tracks between Deer Park and Truganina but to ‘make provision’ only means to ensure capacity within the rail corridor
• RRL2 does not include freight train infrastructure nor was such infrastructure included in the EES referral

But the advisory committee called them out, quoting the RRLA’s own Environment Effects Statement referral document:

It is noted that the above description indicates that:

• The works required to extend the metropolitan train service may be completed after the initial construction but there is no suggestion that such an extension will not occur
• The works required will be within the project area and will include construction and use of rail tracks, a station, stabling facilities and depot facilities
• The level of detail provided is equal to, if not greater than, that provided on the proposed regional passenger train infrastructure and services
• The construction of additional tracks for freight at the northern end of the
  project area is likely.

In light of the above, we are convinced that a reasonable reading of the project description would lead to a conclusion that the extension of the metropolitan train service and the additional tracks for freight trains are part of what is being proposed.

Again, these are facilities that might be constructed and used without the need for further planning permission. While the RRLA has suggested that this could only occur if a revised or new noise management plan was prepared and approved, as we have said, we do not believe that the provisions of the Incorporated Document guarantees this. We are therefore of the view that the extension of the metropolitan train service and the additional track for freight trains should also be considered to be part of the project.

Following the advisory committee report recommendations, the Minister for Planning issued a set of directions to the Regional Rail Link Authority to revise their noise management plan, but the requirements didn’t touch on rail freight at all:

The Noise Management Plan was required to:

• Identify the locations where future predicted noise levels at residential dwellings exceed an average of 55 decibels (LAeq,9h) at night or 80 decibels (LAmax) from the loudest train movement and
• Identify the noise treatments required to mitigate noise.

As a result approval came easy – the “Regional Rail Link Update to Noise Impact Management Report” was published in February 2013 and then approved by the minister in June 2013.

V/Line commenced operating test trains via Tarneit and Wyndham Vale in October 2014, with Geelong line passenger services switching to the new route in June 2015.

And the freight trains roll

On 30 March 2016 saw the first freight train use the Regional Rail Link tracks, when the Pacific National operated a Warrnambool to Melbourne service passed through Wyndham Vale and Tarneit just before midnight on the Wednesday, followed by the return movement a few hours later in the early hours of Thursday morning.

These services are normally operated by a single ~3000 horsepower diesel locomotive, leading around twenty container wagons.

Pacific National ramped up their usage of Regional Rail Link a month later, when in the early hours of 20 April 2016 they commenced driver training operations along the route, sending a light engine consist on three return trips between Sunshine and Little River, with a number of freight train drivers onboard to learn the new line.

In the months since, a number of other freight trains have used the Regional Rail Link tracks, including empty wagon transfers between the Port of Melbourne and North Geelong Yard in daylight.

Given the Regional Rail Link Authority instance that freight trains would not use their new line, on 30 April I emailed Public Transport Victoria a list of questions:

• are freight trains currently authorised to use the Regional Rail Link tracks via Tarneit and Wyndham Vale?
• between that report dated 2010, and completion of the project by the Regional Rail Link Authority in 2015, was a decision made to permit freight trains to use the new railway line via Tarneit and Wyndham Vale?
• if the decision was not made before the line opened, has such a decision been made since, and by who?
• was the freight train I saw a one off event, or will it be a regular occurrence?
• if freight trains are going to use the Regional Rail Link tracks via Tarneit and Wyndham Vale on a regular basis, how many freight trains will there be, and at what time of day?
• if freight trains will be using the track on a regular basis, will any enhancements be made to the existing noise mitigation infrastructure?

A week and a bit later, I got my response:

I forwarded on your feedback to our Network Product Development team and ave been informed that:

The freight service was using the RRL for locomotive transfer purposes, although the move was also designed to keep the knowledge of this route by freight drivers up-to-date.

There is no intention to regularly run freight trains via the RRL, although it may be necessary on occasions to direct them via the RRL when the Werribee line is out of action due to trackwork or incidents.

It should be noted that this was not the first time that this type of irregular locomotive move has taken place, and that there may be occasion in the future when it will occur again.

So in the end it appears that common sense has prevailed, with freight trains being able to use the new railway line if there is a need to do so – and the Regional Rail Link Authority has been exposed as telling porkies.

June 2017 update

On June 24, 2017 a Pacific National service ex-Mildura with four locomotives and 50 wagons was sent via Regional Rail Link, due to an occupation on the usual route via Newport.

November 2020 update

Work on the Werribee Street level crossing removal project has been the normal broad gauge freight route between Geelong and Melbourne closed, requiring the daily Warrnambool freight has been diverted via Regional Rail Link.

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The new bus network was up and working, including the new double decker bus for the route 190 service that links Wyndham Vale station with suburban trains at Werribee station.

But there were also plenty of opening day glitches. The first thing I noticed was that none of the next train displays were working – they were either showing inaccurate data, or the default ‘Listen for announcements’ message.

Platform length is also a problem at the new stations. V/Line is currently only operating trains up to a maximum of six carriages long on the line, but Footscray, Tarneit and Wyndham Vale are all setup for nine carriage long trains.

Painted markings indicating where train drivers should stop, but they appear to be used inconsistently – some trains pulled up to the departure end of the platform, while others stop near the platform entrance. Combine that with the lack of information is given to waiting passengers, and dwell times blow out, as waiting passengers run down the platform to meet the train.

Finally, today was the first time that many commuters from Wyndham Vale and Tarneit had ever stepped onboard a V/Line service, so there was some confusion as to how to open the train doors!

A few more points:

• I travelled on a citybound service that commenced at Wyndham Vale, and it was almost empty, while elsewhere there was reports of Geelong services becoming overcrowded once they reached the new stations.
• V/Line now has nobody to blame for themselves for en-route delays, yet my citybound train got held outside the junction at Sunshine, presumably for another V/Line service, and then crawled into the city, arriving 5 minutes late at Southern Cross.

The glitches with the next train displays are hopefully just an opening day bug, as do passengers not knowing how to open the doors. I’m also hoping that once passengers from Wyndham Vale and Tarneit get used to the new service, they will discover that the dedicated short working services are their best bet for getting a seat, reducing crowding on the Geelong services.

However, the inconsistent stopping locations at platforms is something that V/Line needs to address – the Chief Investigator of Transport Safety flagged it as an issue following a ‘signal passed at danger’ event in 2011.

So to summarise – I’m glad to see a new rail line built to serve a growing area of Melbourne, but V/Line and PTV really need to pull their finger out and make sure the public get the most out of the new infrastructure.

Some timetable quirks

Under the new timetables, for much of the day Metro Trains services to Sunshine station are now outnumbered by those provided by V/Line!

• V/Line: 3 trains an hour to Geelong, and 2 trains an hour to Bacchus Marsh, with every second train continuing to Ballarat.
• Metro Trains: 3 trains an hour to Watergardens, with every second train continuing to Sunbury.

In addition, services to Geelong in peak hour now outnumber those on the ‘suburban’ line to Upfield, which only receives a train every 20 minutes.

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This is Manhattan. Big city, tall buildings, and a vibrant nightlife.

Photo by Francisco Diez from New York City, USA, via the Wikimedia Commons

And this is Melbourne’s “Upper West Side” – a collection of cookie cutter apartment towers built atop the former Spencer Street Power Station at the arse end of Lonsdale Street. Comparing it to New York is a long bow to draw, isn’t it?

However this is “Manhattan Place” in Tarneit – a housing estate located on some empty paddocks out the back of Werribee, located about 25 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, and with no shops or jobs available unless you jump in your car.

The main selling point of the estate is the block size, which the since closed website for Manhattan Place points out:

Land that gives you room to breathe, with plenty of space for the kids to play and for you to entertain friends.

Manhattan Place in Tarneit is where you have the rare luxury of living on 700m² plus allotments that give you room to breathe.

Finding an affordable apartment that is 700 square FEET in the real Manhattan would be a tall order!

For those of you using real units of measurement, 700 square feet is just over 65 square meters – roughly a one bedroom apartment.

The developers then move their pitch towards families looking for their second or third homes, and invoke a comparison with New York.

Be among neighbours with the same strong family values. People who value success from working hard ~ and who truly appreciate the style, elegance and sophistication that Manhattan is famous for.

Since the estate is out in the middle of nowhere, and not the middle of the city, the developers have to point out the real world is only a short trip away.

Your home will make entertaining a pleasure, swift freeway access to the theatres, restaurants and social life of the city. A short trip to magnificent ocean beaches, the world class Werribee Park Zoo, ready access to excellent schools, shopping, public transport and local sporting and fitness facilities.

And then mention the restrictive covenants in place to prevent people “not like you” from trashing the place.

Part of the charm of buying land at Manhattan Place is the freedom you have to choose your own architectural design and builder to create the luxury home of your dreams. There is the reassurance of knowing that the building and landscaping standards guarantee an environment of quality and character that protects your investment. It all combines to make Manhattan Place the place to live.

Manhattan Place is located at the corner of Sayers Road and York Avenue, Tarneit – Melway reference 234 K4.

A dead ringer for New York, isn’t it?

2020 update

Found a new one – Grand Central Tarneit.

Located right on the edge of Melbourne, halfway to Geelong.

Just another cookie cutter housing estate.

I wonder how long until that ‘proposed’ Riverside station gets built?

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