RAC welcomes northern rail line expansion plan

The RAC has welcomed the State Government’s announcement that it will make a major capital investment to extend the northern rail line to Butler and Brighton.

The announcement of the major rail project came just 24 hours after the release of an RAC Survey that showed 60 per cent of respondents could not use public transport to travel to work.

The government’s proposed extension of the line will significantly expand the passenger catchment area of the northern line and bring public transport within reach of a large number of commuters.

RAC Head of Member Advocacy Matt Brown said it made good economic sense for the government to make an early and decisive commitment to extend the rail line.

“This is a project which the government should be able to move quickly on to get construction underway with funding flowing into the local economy,” Mr Brown said.

“This will provide an immediate benefit in terms of new jobs in the construction phase of the project.

“More importantly, this will be a significant legacy project for the State which will ensure the public transport system continues to expand to meet the growing needs of our population.

“It makes sense that the growing suburbs to the north have access to quality public transport.
“Congestion on the Mitchell Freeway has been becoming progressively worse over recent years and the problem is only going to get bigger.

“Sensible investments in a mix of road and public transport projects will help alleviate the problem of congestion.”

Mr Brown said it was important that the government learned from past mistakes in planning the rail extension.

“The problems on the northern line in relation to parking at train stations are well documented,” Mr Brown said.

A comprehensive RAC Public Transport Survey in 2008 identified parking, crowded trains and frequency of services as the major turn-offs for rail commuters.

“The government has the opportunity with this extension to design out some of those problems to ensure the new service can deliver its maximum potential,” he said.

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