Petition Safety barriers and security fencing for rail infrastructure

The petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the lack of secure fencing and platform screen doors along tracks of Victoria's railway network. This has resulted in almost 3,000 incidents of trespassing in 2023, more than 300 fatalities and injuries from 2016 to 2024 and has affected more than 25,000 train services annually.

In 2024, around 60 per cent of the metropolitan rail network was fenced, and the Government has previously committed to installing more than 16 kilometres of new fencing along rail hotspots by 2025. It is unclear whether this project has been completed. It is also unclear how much of the regional V/Line rail network is fenced. The installation of security fencing along railway corridors interfacing with urban areas should be mandated by amending clause 4.4.2 of the Public Transport Environs element for the Urban Design Guidelines of Victoria.

The Metro Tunnel Project has installed platform screen doors at the five new stations, which act as safety barriers preventing passengers from entering tracks as well as improving climate control, air quality and environmental sustainability. However, there are currently no plans to install more platform screen doors in other hotspots such as Flinders Street, Southern Cross, Melbourne Central, and Parliament Stations.

The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the Government to prioritise improving safety barriers across the Victorian rail network by installing high-quality segregating barriers on close to 100 per cent of the metropolitan network, fencing more of the regional rail network to improve V/Line services, amending the Urban Design Guidelines of Victoria to mandate the installation of security fencing along railway corridors interfacing with urban areas, and urgently investigating the feasibility of installing platform screen doors at Melbourne's busiest train stations.