Connecting Fishermans Bend with the rail network

Urban Melbourne responded to Jason Dowling’s  article in The Age today on the future traffic load on the Westgate Bridge by highlighting the contribution that rail will and might make on these scenarios.

Urban Melbourne prefer PTV’s  (Public Transport Victoria’s) long term plan for a connection from Southern Cross to Fishermans Bend – a Mernda to Fishermans Bend line – to a second bridge crossing.

PTV’s plan says

The Fishermans Bend area will undergo significant redevelopment in the coming decades and become an important new hub in the expanding CBD. This area will need significant additional public transport capacity and connections as it develops and it is anticipated that the initial enhanced bus network will not be sufficient to support the longer term needs for passengers wishing to access the area. This project enables a fast and frequent train service to be provided [p130 of 140]

Urban Melbourne cautions against thinking that further road based projects will ease current or future congestion. However, given the current debate on the merits of the East-West Link relative to the Melbourne Metro, it is hard to muster any confidence that there is the vision or the will to plan for a liveable future for our great city.