Ringwood electorate
Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:49): (253) My constituency question is directed to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Minister, when can my constituents expect the Dublin Road level crossing to be gone for good, and how will the Lilydale line benefit from being level crossing free? The Andrews Labor government is hard at work removing 110 dangerous and congested level crossings right across Victoria, including two in the heart of my electorate at Bedford Road, Ringwood and Dublin Road, Ringwood East. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the works at Dublin Road, where the team are working hard digging a trench to remove the last level crossing on the Lilydale line and to build a brand new Ringwood East station, all by 2025. With boom gates down for up to 23 minutes during the morning peak, getting rid of this crossing will unblock the Dublin Road bottleneck and free up congestion, meaning not only faster commutes but also the ability to run more trains more often. It is community-shaping work, and I am proud to be part of a government that is laying down the tracks – quite literally – for generations to come.