Infrastructure Victoria has recently published a proposal on transport infrastructure for the next 30 years which includes several sectors. In terms of transport, the strategy underlines Victoria’s infrastructure needs on short, medium and long term and includes projects and solutions that will meet new mobility demands. For the rail sector, the strategy recommends a series of infrastructure projects aimed to increase transport capacity and reliability and implement signalling, information and ticketing systems. Also, as freight traffic is expected to increase significantly, the construction of new terminals and supply of rail access to these terminals being vital to increase the rail transport share.
The strategy project covers nine sectors, from education, transport, telecommunications, energy and justice. The independent authority Infrastructure Victoria proposes 134 recommendations worth USD 100 billion which approach the metropolitan area of Melbourne and the state of Victoria, 70% of recommendations being relevant at state level. “While there are 134 recommendations, three areas have been identified for priority action – increasing densities in established areas to make better use of existing infrastructure, introducing a comprehensive transport pricing regime and investing in social and affordable housing for vulnerable Victorians. These recommendations have the potential to change the social and economic fabric of Victoria, and are the most important areas for action in the short to medium term,” Chief Executive Michel Masson said.
The State of Victoria experiments a constant population growth by an average 100,000 people a year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says Victoria counts for 25% of Australia’s population. Victoria’s population is now 6 million, but it is expected to increase to 9.5 million by 2046. It is concentrated in cities especially in Melbourne’s metropolitan area, Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. According to estimates, 80% of this growth will be registered in Melbourne Area. In these conditions, a corresponding infrastructure is the vital element to meet the demands of a growing population.
The most important actions to be considered by the government on short and medium term rely on increasing densities in the set areas to determine a better use of infrastructure, the introduction of a comprehensive tariff system on the whole network and the allocation of investments in the social sector.
Regarding the transport sector, the document combines the state’s main projects (such as North East Link, a new line to the airport etc.), with policies and reforms aimed at improving the use of the existing infrastructure and the development of new infrastructures.
“We have made wide ranging recommendations to improve the public transport system across the state, with upgrades to rail, bus, tram and cycling infrastructure,” Michel Masson said.
Recommendations
The financing mechanism potential of railway project recommendations includes the allocation of governmental funds and revenues from the user and beneficiary charges.
Fishermans Bend tram link: the project includes the extension of the tram network between Melbourne Airport and Fishermans Bend to stimulate the increasing density and urban redevelopment. This line will be built around the city becoming a catalyser for the implementation of Australia’s largest urban renewal, permitting the construction of a new home for 80,000 citizens and the creation of 60,000 jobs in the adjacent area of Melbourne Centre.
Melbourne Airport rail link: the development of a railway to the airport that will preferably provide connection between the centre of Melbourne and the south-east to provide additional capacity compared to the existing services. The railway will provide improved for both interstate and local journeys. For this project, it will be necessary to elaborate network planning documents for improved integration of the line in the rail network, especially due to demand growth estimates on Sunbury and Melton lines for which proposals include common links of the new line on Sunshine Corridor.
Geelong/Werribee/Wyndham rail: the project consists of the construction of new stations and lines west of Melbourne along the recently built link Regional Rail Link aimed to ease the overcrowdedness of the Geelong, Werribee and Wyndham railways. Apart from this construction, it is also necessary to modernise the existing sections.
Melton line electrification (Melbourne metropolitan region): over the next decade the railway network will be extended and electrified to Melton to support growth on the western corridor and improve services on Ballarat Line. The electrification project is vital to meet the estimated demand on Melton Line, to facilitate access to the city’s central area. Within the project, it will be necessary to purchase new trains with 10 large-capacity cars to run on this line, Vehicles will operate on the lines that intersect Melbourne Metro (ongoing project).
Wallan Line Electrification (45 km of Melbourne): extension of the electrified rail network to Wallan to support growth on the northern corridor and improvement of services on Seymour lines. The project will provide connections to the central part of the city and will support the reconfiguration of the City Loop, to supply additional transport services.
Clyde Line Extension (48 km south-east of Melbourne CBD): construction of the extension of Cranbourne Line to Clyde is designed to develop the region and provide connection with the city centre and to provide facilities for alternative transport modes.
Regional rail eastern corridor. Over the next 5 years it is necessary to increase the capacity of Dandenong rail corridor. The capacity of the corridor will be constantly increased over the next decades. One of the solutions is the construction of additional railways on the corridor to meet the increasing traffic demand from the south-east of Melbourne and Gippsland. However, the document stipulates that “this is a particularly high cost solution and further network planning is required, considering both how to maximise the benefits of such an investment and all available options to better use existing infrastructure first.” The project implementation will require the identification of corridor capacity planning factors, such as the additional demand of metropolitan and regional transport services, the growth potential of the freight flow from Gippsland and the establishment of the location for a second port.
Transport connections in Wollert (Melbourne area). The feasibility study for boosting the transport capacity (either by rail or by bus) will be developed in the next 5 years. Under the study, Wollert adjacent areas will be connected to the railway network and to the centre of Melbourne. These transport links will be necessary over the next 15-30 years and will provide a viable alternative to private transport, for both local transport and commuter transport to the capital’s centre.
LRT networks. The establishment of light rail or bus networks to provide transport services to the large employment centres and connections to the existing railways are projects necessary for the next 15 years. Feasibility and network planning studies will be elaborated and integrated to the land use spaces and the existing transport networks. The latest state-of-the-art transport technologies will be considered for implementation.
Transport interchanges: Over the next 5 years, the authorities want to develop projects to modernise transfer points apart from the projects selected and initiated so far, projects that will focus on identifying transfer facility measures, including for disabled persons. Priority projects include Monash, Dandenong and Latrobe National Employment Clusters and the Box Hill and Broadmeadows Metropolitan Activity Centres.
Regional projects. They include the modernisation of the regional rail network, the elimination of physical and operational network constraints, the identification of priority projects to increase the reliability of passenger transport services, reduction of maintenance costs and line duplication where necessary (one of the identified projects is the duplication of Geelong to Waurn Ponds line.
Rolling stock procurement is another important regional transport project to be implemented over the next 5 years (the authorities have already launched tenders for new trains). An example in the development of this programme is the “Victorian rolling stock strategy” announced in 2015. The strategy includes the implementation of a continuous flow of new rolling stock procurements and the placing in service of the rolling stock on the existing and new railways. This way, the entire rolling stock fleet will be gradually replaced.
Long-distance transport. Additional rail connection services will be provided over the next 10 years, projects focused on increasing the accessibility for the communities in and to Melbourne (including regional connections). Initial projects include the delivery of 5 services in 5 days a week on the lines to Warrnambool, Bairnsdale, Albury-Wodonga, Echuca, Swan Hill and Shepparton.
Although most projects will be carried out in metropolitan areas, the authorities also consider the development of the transport system in rural areas. Regarding rail transport, over the next decade the authorities want to provide new regional services (including new trains) between neighbouring areas and cities to provide access to the new jobs and services in the regions concerned. According to the strategy, these projects need a transparent identification of the priority locations for optimising connections to neighbouring centres and rail stations, including St Arnaud, Heathcote and Orbost. It will also include the acquisition of new cars, trains, and the development of new services and transport routes.
Next to the above-mentioned projects, the strategy includes the introduction of a new integrated ticketing system, real-time information systems, signalling systems, initially on the key sections of the metropolitan network.
Freight volumes to increase
In Victoria, freight traffic is estimated to increase by over 125% until 2046 reaching 170 billion tonne-km, compared to present volumes. The total volume will be influenced by a series of factors such as logistics, technology, climate change, shifting agricultural locations. Reducing costs with handling, warehousing and transport of freight and optimising the reliability of logistics chains will significantly increase productivity.
For example, as the most significant share of the freight is shipped by road in Victoria, the efficiency benefits will be determined by the improvement of access to the Port of Melbourne. To that end, one of the strategy’s recommendations in the freight segment includes the elaboration of a policy of rail access to the Port of Melbourne in the next 5 years. This policy will meet the requirements of the first “rail access” strategy to be elaborated by the new port operator in 3 years after signing the leasing contract as stipulated by the Delivering Victorian Infrastructure (Port of Melbourne Lease Transaction) Act 2016. Proposals on the establishment of a container shuttle for the Port of Melbourne and of a rail freight access for Webb Dock will be thus evaluated. These projects have the ability of providing freight transport services outside the port and of reducing congestion in the port area.
Western Intermodal Freight Terminal is another project proposed by the strategy whose location should be set in the next 5 years. The factors that influence the construction and operation of the new terminal are the capacity of the existing terminal and urban rejuvenation of Dynon region, the finalisation of Inland Rail and road congestion in the port area. This project aims to relocate the terminal closer to the customers in the West of Melbourne and reduce road traffic.
The railway sector also includes the gauge standardisation project in the north-east of Victoria and planning for the rest of the regional broad-gauge network to determine other gauge standardisation priority areas. The standardisation process of the freight regional network will help increase the accessibility of the rolling stock in Australia, free competition between the Ports of Victoria and the reduction of rail freight traffic logistics costs.
Since Victoria will need a second port, the project development will have a significant impact on creating the logistics chain in Victoria. “The decision to proceed with a second container port is unlikely to be required for some time, and it will be important for the government to understand the triggers and lead times associated with developing a second port,” the strategy says.
The strategy project does not include a recommendation concerning the construction data and the location of the new port, as the government asked Infrastructure Victoria to provide consultancy for this project until May 2017.
by Pamela Luica
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