Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Upfield rail line

Anasina GRAY-BARBERIO (Northern Metropolitan) (10:19): I move:

That this house:

(1) notes that the Upfield train line has 4 kilometres of single track between Gowrie and Upfield stations, meaning that only one train can run at a time;

(2) further notes that:

(a) the Age recently:

(i) referred to the Upfield line as ‘Melbourne’s most infuriating train line’, with people often waiting 20 minutes or more for a train to arrive;

(ii) reported the Victorian Labor government had scrapped plans to build a turnback at Gowrie station as part of the Metro Tunnel project;

(b) the Victorian Labor government has recently announced two new activity centres along the Upfield line, but has announced no corresponding increase to services; and

(3) requires the Leader of the Government, in accordance with standing order 10.01, to table in the Council, within three weeks of the house agreeing to this resolution, all documents relating to the findings of the Upfield, Somerton and Wallan service enhancement planning feasibility study that was financially completed in the fourth quarter of 2017–18.

The 2016–17 Victorian state budget allocated $5 million to plan for infrastructure upgrades between Upfield and Somerton to support new services to Wallan. I understand this feasibility study was to include investigation and planning for track duplication for the Upfield rail line, but the results of the study have not been publicly made available, and my constituents have written to the government asking for these reports, only to be brushed aside.

Track duplication is the best option to improve services on the Upfield line and would benefit residents and communities all along the line. The recent federal election saw both Liberal and Labor committing millions of dollars to further studying and planning for possible upgrades to the Upfield line. It is good to know the idea has bipartisan support, but there is a risk that the new federal study will just duplicate the work of the state study and kick the can down the road for a few more years to avoid real investment. We need duplicated tracks, not duplicated studies. When it comes to public transport options, the Northern Metro community does deserve better, and this includes the thousands of new community members we will be welcoming in the government’s soon to be built activity centres in Brunswick and Coburg.

The Upfield Transport Alliance, a key local advocacy group, are calling on the government to take meaningful action to improve public transport in the north, including keeping the government’s previous commitment for a 70 per cent increase in capacity on the Upfield line when the Metro Tunnel opens; duplicating the Upfield line between Gowrie and Upfield stations and extending this duplicated line to Craigieburn, which will relieve capacity on trains using the Broadmeadows line; prioritising the electrification and extension of the suburban rail network to Wallan; and ensuring a 10-minute service on the Upfield line before the new activity centres open so that everyone in our community can turn up and go anywhere they need to go.

This is important work that the state Labor government should be continuing to prioritise, and it starts with releasing the documents from the feasibility study conducted between 2016 and 2018. I urge the government to release these documents without delay.

Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (10:22): I rise to contribute to the debate on this motion regarding the Upfield line and to speak to the significant ongoing investment that the Allan Labor government is making to deliver real, tangible improvements to public transport in the north. The motion raises concerns about the performance of the Upfield line, with particular reference to the 4-kilometre single track between Gowrie and Upfield stations.

Let me just say I absolutely understand the frustrations of passengers, and I welcome an opportunity here to reaffirm this government’s commitment to modern, frequent and reliable services for our community. Looking at the facts, since coming to office Labor has added over 1250 new metropolitan train services, including 57 new weekly services on the Upfield line since 2015, and just last week the Minister for Public and Active Transport announced that the 2025–26 budget will fund more than 50 additional weekly services, bringing the total to over 107 new weekly services on the line. These changes mean trains will run at least every 20 minutes throughout the day, including on weekends and late at night. That is a game changer for the northern suburbs: more flexibility, more options and less time waiting on the platforms. It also means fewer cars on the road, less congestion and better air quality.

But it is not just about frequency; it is also about quality, accessibility and futureproofing the network. We are introducing the X’trapolis 2.0 trains. They are modern, accessible and energy-efficient trains built in regional Victoria by Alstom, supporting 750 local jobs, 150 of which are in Ballarat. These trains will replace the ageing Comeng fleet – I do not even know, I know it is written on the side of the trains, and I get on them and love them nonetheless – and deliver a far superior travel experience. These features – can I say they are kind of exciting – include wider doors, smoother rides, real-time passenger information and state-of-the-art accessibility. There are 20 wheelchair spaces per train, there are boarding ramps, there are mobility spaces, there is pram storage, there is bicycle storage and there are hearing loops. This is transport designed for everyone regardless of their age, mobility or background.

In terms of infrastructure, we are building the network of the future. In 2020 we removed five of the most dangerous and congested level crossings on the Upfield line, at Moreland Road, Reynard Street, Munro Street, Bell Street and Camp Road, and delivered new stations at Coburg and Moreland – award-winning train stations, might I add.

There are new community spaces, and there are upgrades on the Upfield bike path. These projects do not just ease traffic, they have transformed communities. I recently visited Nightingale, and I saw how the bike path has brought some new energy, with businesses like the local bike repair co-op thriving thanks to the increased foot traffic.

But we are not stopping there. By 2030 we will remove another eight level crossings in Brunswick, unlocking the equivalent of two MCGs worth of new community space; deliver two brand new train stations; and improve safety, reduce congestion and allow for much more frequent train services. Excitement in the community – it is building, and it is real. They know that this project will absolutely transform Brunswick and the wider inner north with new activity centres announced along the Upfield corridor. The need for reliable public transport is only growing, and this government is responding with integrated forward thinking and planning. While others have quoted newspapers and are casting some blame, I have got to tell you, this government is delivering real improvements. The Upfield line is changing for the better – and we heard that only last week from the minister – because of sustained, strategic investment.

As for the motion requests for documents relating to the Upfield, Somerton and Wallan feasibility study completed in 2018, the government will not oppose this, consistent with standing orders and convention. We are committed to transparency.

Let us not pretend that reports build better transport; action does, and that is exactly what we are delivering later this year. Excitingly – I cannot wait – the Metro Tunnel will open, bringing more benefits by creating capacity across the network, including for the Upfield line. This is a generational investment with long-term impacts. And let us also be honest about who delivers. We might hear those in the Greens talk about public transport, but it is Labor that gets on with the job. We are removing the level crossings. We have got the new trains, the extra services and the infrastructure to support them. For my community this means less time commuting, more time with family, safer streets, more accessible transport and better connectivity. It means better access to schools, work and communities. These are not abstract concepts. They are being delivered right now. This is a government that backs the north, and the evidence is clear.

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (10:27): I rise to speak on Ms Gray-Barberio’s motion and concur with it. It is something that we are on the same page on, which you do not always see. It is Melbourne’s most infuriating train line. And just to comment on some of the points raised by past speakers in regard to federal election commitments, you are right: it was a bipartisan advocacy at a federal level as well. I note that the federal Labor government committed $7 million for another study into the Upfield rail line, connecting it all the way up to Wallan. You would be interested to know, Ms Gray-Barberio, that that $7 million is going directly to the state government. So I imagine we will be here doing a docs motion in eight years time, again asking the state government to release that study that they have already done. We are asking for it now. They are then doing another study. This is not a federal study. This is a commitment for another state study on exactly the same thing. It is exactly the same document we are asking for.

My federal colleagues actually listened to people like Northern Councils Alliance, another local advocacy group, who actually recommended money towards a public scoping study, a public document, because we have not been able to access what the previous study said, because the government treats the northern suburbs with absolute contempt. We know it treats them with contempt. We know that because of the almost $5 billion in blowouts on the Metro Tunnel they had to cancel turnbacks at Gowrie and at Essendon, which has reduced the capacity increase on the Upfield line. In November 2018 then Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan promised that the Metro Tunnel would deliver major benefits on the Upfield line – 70 per cent more passengers in the peak – and would pave the way for future duplication. Well, public transport experts have said that we will likely end up with a 7 per cent increase – quite the difference there. We were promised a 70 per cent increase, and we are going to get 7 per cent. Well, thank you very much to the government there.

This is what happens when Labor cannot manage money – it is commuters on the Upfield line that pay the price. The idea of duplicating the Upfield line is not a new one; we need to duplicate the Upfield line from Gowrie to Upfield and extend the track to Roxburgh Park. This would enable us to electrify the track from Craigieburn to Wallan, where you have a huge amount of commuters getting onto V/Line trains. V/Line calls itself Australia’s fastest growing regional rail network – it is the only the fastest growing because we are cramming tens of thousands of people into growth suburbs that do not have proper electrification, like at Wallan, like at Donnybrook. Infrastructure Victoria have recommended this over and over and over again in their 30-year vision. It mentions the Suburban Rail Loop a couple of times in the footnotes, but it makes key points advocating for new stations at Kalkallo, Lockerbie and Beveridge to cater for the needs of our growing community in the northern suburbs. Yet this government has sat on its hands. They have sat on a feasibility study which has already been completed and has been sitting on the minister’s desk or in the department somewhere, and then they are out celebrating. I see state MPs with Peter Khalil celebrating new money for a feasibility study – a new one! – for the state government to do, when you have already done one. If you have already done one, release it – we need to know what this study says. If you are going to do a new one, explain why you are doing a new one when you have already done one. What has changed since then?

Commuters in the north deserve decent public transport, and we know the supposed announcements on the Craigieburn and Upfield lines will only touch the sides. The Craigieburn line has more passengers than the Frankston line but double the wait time. Commuters on the line to Sandringham and Brighton have faster services and more frequent services than those on the Craigieburn line, despite having a massively higher amount of passengers. It is the north that continually gets neglected by this government when it comes to public transport.

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (10:32): I am very pleased to rise to speak on Ms Gray-Barberio’s motion relating to the Upfield rail line, noting a range of matters and then requesting certain documents relating to a service enhancement planning feasibility study that was completed maybe five or six years ago. I will get to Mr Mulholland’s contribution about why he does not believe that we should be looking at it again in a moment. But obviously as per the convention the government does not oppose documents motions, but in the context of the debate about the Upfield line and the remarks that have been made about the need to continually invest in Melbourne’s rail infrastructure, I think you have a demonstration that in the Allan Labor government you have got a state government that invests in rail in Melbourne and that has an unprecedented commitment to improving the rail network here in Melbourne, which obviously has flow-on benefits across Victoria but particularly for our suburban and urban centres and then our peri-urban centres, who increasingly need access to the rail network. This government has an undeniable track record of investing where we need to in the future capacity of Melbourne’s rail network.

We have obviously got the Metro Tunnel opening later this year, a project that will transform Melbourne’s rail network and that has been delivered by the Allan Labor government, that has been fully funded by Victorians and that is going to make sure that Melbourne’s public transport network has both the current capacity but also capacity in the future. We know that as our city grows – it is going to be the size of London by 2050 – we need to keep investing in our rail network. We talk about it repeatedly.

Often we get criticised by the Liberal Party for the investments that the Labor government is making in rail. Just this week we had the Liberal Party spokesperson come out and criticise the further investments that the Labor government is making in rail. For some reason the Liberal Party does not support Labor’s investments in rail in this city. It is a bit galling then to hear Mr Mulholland get up today and try and do a 180 and suggest that somehow in this instance the Liberal Party actually does believe in investing in our rail network, when every other instance we have seen, not just from this week but from the last 10 years, demonstrates that the Liberals have no interest in investing in our rail network. I do not know if it is just that Mr Mulholland is having a bad week after the events of two Saturdays ago, when his entire political strategy hit the fence pretty dramatically. What we see is a state Labor government investing in rail.

The other thing we saw – and Mr Mulholland mentioned it in his speech – is what appeared to be criticism of the investment that the federal Labor government has made in further investigations into the needs of the Upfield rail corridor and the needs of northern Melbourne. We think it is a good thing, frankly, that we have got a federal government in Canberra that cares about Victoria, cares about Melbourne and cares about rail infrastructure in this state. We did not have one for a decade when the Liberals were last in power. We are absolutely seeing the benefits of having a federal Labor government that cares about rail, a federal Labor government that cares about Melbourne and a federal Labor government that cares about Victoria working in partnership with a state government that has a demonstrated track record of investing in the necessary rail infrastructure in this city and in this state. If the Liberal Party do not support more investments in our rail network and if the Liberal Party do not support improving services to Melbourne’s established and growing communities, then they are just as irrelevant as we all think they are.

Motion agreed to.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Michael Galea): Before we continue I acknowledge the presence in the chamber of former member for Oakleigh Ann Barker.