THE Frankston line will have a mix of above and below ground level rail as part of the state government’s plan to separate road from rail at level crossings and homes may be compulsory acquired to remove the crossing at Charman Rd in Cheltenham.
Labor Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan visited Edithvale train station on Tuesday morning (6 September) to unveil options for the removal of level crossings at eight sites along the rail line.
The state government is now asking for community feedback on the flagged designs for each crossing before deciding on the final designs early next year.
The Level Crossing Removal Authority, a Department of Transport body, will host several community consultation sessions, where residents can see detailed design plans, in September and October.
Ms Allan acknowledged design options were originally slated to be unveiled mid-year but she said the government and the LXRA decided to take more time to “get it right”.
“Each site needs to be looked at individually and each project needs to be assessed on the particular environmental issues … and road considerations,” Ms Allan told The News.
“We’re going to take the advice of the expert engineers and have a planning process as well to ensure we get the right outcome at each location.”
A ‘rail trench’ and ‘rail bridge’ are options for level crossings at Seaford, Bonbeach, Edithvale, Mentone and Cheltenham.
A rail bridge may be built at a new crossing at McLeod Rd in Carrum and the Station St crossing could be shut and a new rail bridge built at Eel Race Rd.
A new ‘road connection’ at Station St over the Patterson River is also being looked at as an option.
The state government says a trench cannot be dug at Carrum due to nearby Patterson River.
The government says there is no option at Skye Rd in Frankston – rail over road must be built due to an overland flood plain.
Voters’ feelings about how level crossing removals along the Frankston line are handled could prove crucial to the re-election chances of Labor state MPs in marginal ‘sandbelt’ seats including Tim Richardson (Mordialloc), Sonya Kilkenny (Carrum) and Paul Edbrooke (Frankston) in 2018.
The trio joined Ms Allan at the design options announcement in Edithvale and said they hope to hear from as many people as possible so the design is “the right one” for each community.
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Liberal state opposition spokesman for planning David Davis dubbed the Frankston line plan as ‘roller coaster rail’ and said a series of rail bridges and trenches “is more about politics than engineering”.
“The Big Dipper belongs at Luna Park, not on the Frankston line,” he said in a statement.
“This is a panicked knee-jerk reaction from [Premier] Daniel Andrews and confirms he’s playing politics on level crossing removals.
“It also sends a message to those homeowners on the Pakenham line that the marginal seats along the Frankston line are being treated differently.”
Mr Davis called extended elevated rail on the Pakenham line a “monstrosity”.
Construction on the level crossing removals along the Frankston line will begin in early 2018. See your.levelcrossings.vic.gov.au for further details and ways to provide feedback to the LXRA.
Ms Allan said work would not be completed at all eight level crossings by the time of the next state election but she believed voters will appreciate the complexities and vast scale of the projects and will see progress being made.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 7 September 2016
1 Comment
It will ONLY be DOWN for Labor if they dare to inflict this outrageous destruction on our Bayside suburbs.