- Published:
- Monday 3 October 2016
The two dangerous and congested level crossings in St Albans that the Andrews Labor Government is removing will be gone by the end of the year – more than six months earlier than promised.
Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan announced that the construction blitz beginning today will see the crossings at Main and Furlong Road removed well ahead of schedule.
Both crossings are among Victoria’s most dangerous and congested. The boom gates at Furlong Road are down for 35 minutes – more than a quarter of the morning peak. At Main Road they are down for 65 minutes – more than half the peak.
In the past decade there have been two tragic deaths and more than 40 near misses at the Main Road level crossing. The Furlong Road crossing has also experienced collisions and countless near misses in the past 10 years.
Removing both will reduce congestion, increase safety and improve public transport for thousands in Melbourne’s west.
Around 700 construction staff will work around the clock from tonight, removing the crossings and rebuilding both St Albans and Ginifer Stations.
To enable these works to take place, buses will replace trains between Sunshine and Sunbury from 4-30 October, Furlong Road will be closed from 12-27 October, and Main Road will be closed from 4-28 November.
At the same time, V/Line will undertake more than $46 million in critical maintenance and renewal works on the Bendigo, Swan Hill and Echuca lines – improving sleepers, replacing ballast and upgrading bridges.
As a result, trains will be replaced by coaches on these lines for the entire journey between 4 and 30 October.
For more information on travel disruptions and to plan your journey, visit ptv.vic.gov.au or roads.vic.gov.au.
For more information about the Labor Government’s unprecedented removal of 50 dangerous and congested level crossings across Melbourne, visit levelcrossings.vic.gov.au.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan
“St Albans has lived with these death traps for too long. They clog streets, risk lives and they’ll be gone by the end of the year – we’re getting it done.”
“We’re also delivering $46 million-worth of critical maintenance and improvement works on the Bendigo, Swan Hill and Echuca lines in October, to improve the safety and reliability of services for V/Line passengers.”
Quotes attributable to Member for St Albans Natalie Suleyman
“Construction will ramp up over the coming months, with hundreds of people working around the clock lowering the rail line, rebuilding the stations and removing these dangerous and congested crossings.”
“These crossings don’t belong on our rail network or in the heart of a bustling community like St Albans. We said we would get rid of them and we are delivering on that promise.”