2016-09-07
Local Greens MP Nina Springle has urged the Victorian Government to take seriously communities’ concerns about the Frankston line, ahead of community consultations scheduled for September and October.
“Just get it right, Dan,” Nina Springle urged the Premier, Daniel Andrews. “This is a great opportunity for Government to allow local communities to determine their own futures, but the consultation has to be genuine.
“Communities are very alive to the fact that a genuine consultation means that all technically viable options remain on the table. If communities want appropriate changes, will they be genuinely considered? That’s the test.
“Nobody wants a repeat of the token consultations along the Cranbourne-Pakenham lines, when communities were presented with completed project designs and invited to ask questions about them. It’s concerning that the Government already has ‘preferred options’ ahead of the consultations.
“Removing the crossings is only the beginning. It’s disappointing that the Government still hasn’t committed to improving the 19th-century signalling technology, which means Frankston line commuters will still need to put up with late and unreliable peak services.
“The Greens definitely support level crossing removal, but we must make sure that the final product is an improvement: will commuters have access to quieter, smoother, more reliable and more frequent trains?”