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With a host of transport projects under construction in Victoria, we’ve put the spotlight on the Regional Rail Link to see what benefits it will bring. We spoke to Robert Macey, the Director for Commercial and Legal issues at Regional Rail Link Authority.
Coined the landmark infrastructure project for Victoria, Regional Rail Link is due for completion in 2016 and is set to transform train travel in regional areas. In an effort to make regional travel seamless, the federal and Victorian governments have developed this new line to give regional train’s better access to metropolitan areas.
“Regional Rail Link is a landmark infrastructure project designed to remove major bottlenecks in Victoria’s rail network. It is doing this by untangling metropolitan and regional tracks as they travel through Melbourne’s west into the heart of the city. More than 90km of dedicated regional tracks are being built from West Werribee Junction to Deer Park, then
along the existing rail corridor from Sunshine to Southern Cross Station. When complete, passengers on the Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat lines will have a dedicated route through the metropolitan system” Robert Macey explains.
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The Regional Rail Link promises three distinct benefits to Victoria; it will remove bottlenecks, while improving existing train services and boosting the Victorian economy. According to Mr Macey, public transport is in need a new line such as this to deal with the increasing demand for services: “Demand for public transport in Victoria is high. Over the last six years, patronage on the Werribee, Sunbury, Craigieburn and Upfield lines has increased approximately 50 per cent. Regional Rail Link will create capacity for an extra 23 metropolitan and 10 regional services during each morning and evening peak period. This means the potential for an additional 54,000 passenger trips each day.”
“The additional transport capacity created by Regional Rail Link will be equivalent to taking some 45,000 cars off the road during peak periods, resulting in an estimated $300 million saving to the Victorian economy each year.”Major work will be completed by John Holland, Coleman Rail, Abigroup, GHD and AECOM at the six new railway stations that are being built in conjunction with the link. Regional Rail Link is not only good for the Victorian economy, but it is a project that will absolutely revolutionise travel for regional areas.
If you would like to hear more from Robert Macey on the Regional Rail Link, he will be discussing the procurement processes and lessons learned on the project at the Victorian Transport Infrastructure Summit.