Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Ministers statements: Suburban Rail Loop

Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Government Services, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Public and Active Transport) (14:24): I rise today to update the house on how the Allan Labor government is connecting Victorians to employment, world-class hospitals and universities with faster and more reliable public transport and also shorter journey times. Many love it. Those opposite decided last week that they hate it. But the reality is that the Suburban Rail Loop will slash travel times across the state and directly connect thriving communities in Victoria’s suburbs. Trains will take 3 to 4 minutes between stations and run every 6 minutes in the peak, meaning a student or a health worker from Cheltenham will cut 25 minutes off their trip to Clayton. I am sure my colleague the member for Bentleigh is very excited about that, as are many others on this side of the chamber. Just like the Metro Tunnel, this transformational project will continue to build on the additional train services that the previous Andrews government and the current Allan Labor government have delivered for Victorians right across our beautiful state.

We know that every minute spent waiting for a train is a minute that could otherwise be spent with loved ones or at our place of work or our educational institutions, and that is why since 2014 we have not wasted a single day. We have made the necessary investments – the investments that others were not willing to make – adding more than 1200 train services across the metro train lines and more than 800 new services across the regional network, and the Premier is pretty pleased about that, I bet. There is so much more in the pipeline, with the Metro Tunnel to open in 2025, a year ahead of schedule. In addition to allowing more trains to run more often, the Metro Tunnel will reduce commute times for people in the fastest growing parts of our state. I know the members for Cranbourne, Pakenham and also Sunbury will know that all too well.

Those opposite say they will reserve their right to pause the delivery of these benefits. We had four years of pausing under Baillieu and Napthine, and Victorians know they cannot afford it again.