Geelong locals will spend less time stuck at boom gates and have more services and a more comfortable commute with a re-elected Andrews Labor Government to continue its massive upgrade of the Geelong line.
As a Government, we said we would do the work needed to make duplication of the entire Geelong line possible, and we have. Waurn Ponds Station and the surrounding track are being upgraded but there’s still more to do.
Only Labor will give Geelong locals the reliable modern train service they deserve. A re-elected Labor Government will deliver the $736 million project to duplicate 11kms of track between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds stations and remove the dangerous and congested level crossings at Fyans Street and Surf Coast Highway.
This means Geelong drivers will no longer be stuck waiting at these boom gates for hours every week and the notorious bottleneck that causes delays on the Geelong line will be removed once and for all. This will allow trains to run around every ten minutes during peak times between Waurn Ponds and Melbourne, delivering up to 255 extra services from Waurn Ponds, 235 services from Marshall and 45 services from South Geelong each week.
South Geelong and Marshall train stations will also be upgraded and a business case will be developed to fix the 400 metre long South Geelong tunnel bottleneck. As part of the upgrades, there will be 122 new car spaces added at Marshall station and 58 spaces added at South Geelong station.
A re-elected Labor Government will also begin planning the next stage of work for a new rail link from Marshall Station to Armstrong Creek as part of the Waurn Ponds Duplication Project.
Armstrong Creek is growing and locals need better services that only Labor will deliver - including train services.
The Labor Government has already started securing land for the new rail link and only a re-elected Labor Government will deliver the next stage of work, which is planning for construction of the rail link.
The Waurn Ponds Duplication Project will create almost 1,300 jobs, with work to start in 2020 and finish by 2023.
A re-elected Labor Government will contribute $147 million towards the project and seek the remaining 80 per cent of funding through the National Rail Program, with the business case already submitted to Infrastructure Australia and the Commonwealth Government in May this year.
Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews
“Geelong is growing and more people than ever are catching the train. We said we’d do the groundwork for the entire Geelong line to be duplicated to fix this and we have – but there’s more to do.”
“Only Labor will finish the job and deliver the massive upgrade the Geelong line needs, giving locals more train services, with boom gates gone for good.”
Quote attributable to Member for Bellarine Lisa Neville
“The Liberals promised new train lines but didn’t deliver a single kilometre of track. We’ve already started securing land for a rail link to Armstrong Creek and only Labor will deliver more services from Marshall and South Geelong.”
Quote attributable to Member for Geelong Christine Couzens
“This massive upgrade will be a game changer for locals commuting from Waurn Ponds. It means trains every ten minutes during the morning peak, less crowding and a much better start to the day.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020