The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called on the government to fix a public transport ‘black hole’ by including Campbellfield Station in its Transport and Liveability blueprint for Melbourne, to be released later this year.
PTUA secretary Tony Morton said Campbellfield station is an obvious omission on the Upfield line – serving both a busy shopping centre, and providing a link to a future bus route along Camp Road.
“Campbellfield has plenty of roads choked with cars, but people have virtually no access to public transport despite having a train line running straight past them,” Dr Morton said. “As it happens, the Government is planning to run a new high frequency SmartBus service on route 560 along Camp and Mahoney’s Road. But it must ensure the upgraded bus has an interchange with trains on the Upfield line.”
“The state government has done virtually nothing to improve the urban rail network since taking office in 1999, other than take credit for Kennett Government projects,” said Dr Morton. “It’s time to get serious about providing new stations on the network where they are needed. An integrated approach is needed to public transport planning and introducing a high frequency bus that doesn’t interchange is a lost opportunity,” Dr Morton said.
The government’s ‘Transport and Liveability Statement’ is due to be released in April and will detail the government’s long term commitments to transport projects in Melbourne. The PTUA has also released it’s Five Year Plan for fixing Melbourne’s public transport. For more information see: November 2005 Media Release
Contacts:
PTUA Office 9650 7898