Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Upfield train line extension

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (17:58): (306) My adjournment tonight is directed towards the Minister for Public Transport, and the action I seek from the minister is to investigate options to complete the long campaigned for reinstatement of the Somerton to Upfield link on the northern loop line. It is not a new idea. In fact it was an idea laid out in 2012 by our visionary forefather the Honourable Terry Mulder, Liberal Minister for Public Transport from 2010 to 2014 – the founder of Mulderism, the network development plan in metropolitan rail, a practical philosophy that focused on pragmatic and efficient improvements to public transport infrastructure. It contrasts with the current theory of let us call it Allanism, a strategy based on Big Build infrastructure, flashy press conferences and big cost overruns – $30 billion, I believe – at the expense of significant network, service and timetable reform.

Fast-forward 11 years, and we are exactly where the Liberal government foresaw we would be but without network reform. The Craigieburn line is now over capacity in peak periods, and there is a serious bottleneck for Seymour services. Commuters to Donnybrook and Wallan are constantly beset by delays and cancellations. The Craigieburn and Upfield corridors need to be reconnected for passenger services at the northern end. This would allow more services to run on the Upfield line. It would allow the Upfield line to be extended to Wallan and serve new areas of Craigieburn, and it would allow Seymour services to travel on the Upfield line. To support the new connection a new track pier should be constructed up to Roxburgh Park and the line between Gowrie and Upfield should be duplicated. These improvements would deliver serious results for the northern suburbs. They would allow travel times on Seymour regional trains to be reduced and would greatly benefit Wallan and Donnybrook in my electorate. They would reduce the extreme capacity pressure on the Craigieburn line, and they would enable dedicated services to Wallan – electrified – to cater for patronage growth in the northern suburbs.

We even had back in 2014 or 2015 an Age article mused from a government source that this northern loop line connecting the Upfield line and the Craigieburn line could open in the year that the new Metro is due to be completed, so 2024. I do not believe that has happened, because the Labor Party somewhat forgets the northern suburbs. We have not seen any investment in these kinds of plans. It has been basically swept under the desk with the $30 billion of cost overruns. So I seek the minister’s action to investigate these proposals, dust off the wisdoms of transport ministers past and set out a plan for rail transport in the northern suburbs.