Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday I had the privilege of receiving a delegation from the Whitehorse City Council—known to you as well, Madam Deputy Speaker Burke—led by the mayor, John Koutros, and the CEO, Noelene Duff. This council delegation had travelled to Canberra to present the Springvale Road-Whitehorse Road detailed improvement study, a report to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon. Anthony Albanese. The report was formally handed over to the minister for his consideration following a meeting to discuss the recommended option. This detailed report has been more than a year in the making and was prepared for the council by Maunsell Australia.

The report examined eight different options for dealing with the congestion at Melbourne’s busiest railway crossing, as measured in terms of road traffic and train frequency. The Springvale Road railway crossing in Nunawading has, for the second time in a row, been rated by the RACV as Melbourne’s No. 1 congestion red spot. This follows on from the same rating in 2004—and, this being a biennial survey, that means it has come up each time. The report also found that the crossing is a major black spot, with 32 level-crossing incidents over a five-year period, including three collisions between vehicles and trains. The crossing has been ranked the most dangerous of all of the 1,872 railway crossings in the state of Victoria, with the highest risk assessment ranking, as determined by the Australian level crossing assessment model of May 2008. With an average traffic flow of 67,000 vehicles per day in 2007, the Springvale Road boom gates come down repeatedly to allow the 213 scheduled daily train services to pass through. With the great increase in demand for public transport in the east, many of these trains are packed full and, with the planned increase in Melbourne’s train fleet, there may soon be even more trains bringing down the boom gates and causing extensive delays for motorists, buses and pedestrians in the near future.

The Rudd Labor government is committed to improving one of the most congested intersections in Australia. The recommended option in the report involves a grade separation of the railway crossing by lowering the rail tracks below Springvale Road, along with a new train station at Nunawading and other major improvements to safety and public transport in the area. The next step is for the government to assess and make a decision on the recommendations as soon as possible. After that, it will be up to the Victorian state government to develop a business case for approval to commence the works. We have already committed the amount of $2 million in this year’s federal budget to provide funding for the next stage of the planning process. This funding is part of the Rudd Labor government’s commitment of up to $80 million which, along with the state government’s involvement, will free up transport in this vital eastern corridor.