By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
IT’S been sold as a game changer for the Pakenham-Cranbourne line but a local MP has said that the State Government’s so-called sky rail project is neglecting commuters in the outer south-east.
The new line will see three sections of line elevated, every level crossing between Caulfield and Dandenong removed and 30 platforms lengthened to support 37 high-capacity trains.
It is hoped that the design will slash congestion, allow more trains to run and improve safety along the corridor.
But Gembrook MP Brad Battin said the community preferred rail lines to go under roads, as was promised by the Liberal government in the lead-up to the 2014 state election.
He hit out at the government’s plan, saying it had “no benefit” for this area.
“From this end of the line they’re not doing anything,” he said.
“The government has neglected the south-east for years and these areas are where improvement is really needed.”
He added that New York had phased out raised railways in 1970 and that it was “not what people want”.
The announcement drew mixed responses from the Pakenham Gazette’s Facebook community with several expressing similar sentiments to Mr Battin’s.
“It’s not going to affect anything this side of Dandenong so it’s just another way of spending billions on the inner suburbs,” Tony Bunce wrote.
Protesters opposing the sky rail gathered outside the office of Daniel Andrews on Monday (8 February) to raise concerns about the noise, aesthetics and privacy invasion that could accompany the elevated track.
However Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said the plan was a “win-win”.
“Raising the rail line means we can get rid of these nightmare level crossings with less disruption and be left with a new open space that’s the size of 11 MCGs,” she said.
The government said the project will create more than 2000 jobs and be completed by 2018.
