Category: Media releases
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IA assessments questionable
The Geelong Branch of the Public Transport Users Association has queried the logic of Infrastructure Australia’s negative response to the business case for the duplication of the South Geelong-Waurn Ponds rail line. Branch convener Paul Westcott noted that Infrastructure Australia seems to be saying that the project would stack up if some changes were made.…
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PTUA welcomes rail pledges
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed state Labor and Coalition pledges to expand Melbourne’s rail network. Labor today pledged funding for a plan for airport rail via Sunshine if re-elected. In recent weeks the Coalition has pledged suburban rail extensions of the Cranbourne line to Clyde, and the Frankston line to Baxter. PTUA…
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PTUA welcomes rail investment in Ballarat
The Public Transport Users Association has today welcomed the government’s announcement of the details of a $130m project to untangle freight and passenger services in Ballarat. The project will largely separate freight and passenger trains west of Ballarat station, and upgrade the signalling system in the Ballarat area, to allow for more efficient movement of…
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Magic numbers distort North East Link business case
Cost and benefit figures presented in the North East Link business case by the Victorian Government suggest a “massive shifting of the goalposts” in an effort to make the $16 billion project stack up, according to a preliminary analysis by the Public Transport Users Association. “Comparing these new figures with those presented just 18 months…
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Business as usual budget drops the ball on public transport
Victoria is in danger of regressing to a 20th century car-dependent model for transport planning, and needs to renew its ambition on public and active transport, the Public Transport Users Association said today. “After the bold initiatives of 2015 and 2016, this year’s state budget looks more like something from five or ten years ago,”…
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PTUA welcomes study into high speed rail for Geelong
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed the state government’s announcement of a study into faster rail services for Geelong. A $50 million study will investigate the possibility of trains running at between 250 and 300km/h between Melbourne and Geelong. PTUA Geelong Branch Convener and Regional Spokesperson, Paul Westcott, said faster trains would provide…
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North East Link plans to kill off Doncaster rail forever
The Public Transport Users Association says that detailed design plans for the North East Link and its accompanying busway include taking over the median reserve for additional car lanes. This will ‘kill stone dead’ any long term plan for trains to run to Doncaster, according to the PTUA. “What’s being proposed is a radical reorganisation…
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PTUA welcomes Coalition commitments to regional rail in western Victoria
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has today welcomed the state Coalition’s commitments to improve regional rail in western Victoria if elected in November. A study commissioned by a group of councils in western Victoria in 2017 called for a swathe of improvements to public transport in their regions, including returning passenger trains to Horsham…
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Put our buses to work for everyone: PTUA responds to Infrastructure Victoria action plan
Melbourne’s buses need to be overhauled to follow the heavy-lifting example set by Melbourne’s trams, the Public Transport Users Association said on Friday. The call comes in response to Infrastructure Victoria’s “Five Year Focus” strategy, which outlines short term actions to tackle Melbourne’s traffic congestion. The report calls on the State Government to make better…
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Show us a plan, and don’t neglect local services, says PTUA
The Victorian Government needs to show the public an integrated plan for moving people and freight. But the government also needs to match its busy infrastructure programme with a commitment to frequent local public transport service, the Victorian Transport Infrastructure Conference heard on Thursday. According to a presentation by Dr Tony Morton, President of the…
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Care urged on Rowville tram proposal: avoid rushing into half measures, says PTUA
The Public Transport Users Association has cautiously welcomed a proposal to develop a new tram line connecting Rowville to Caulfield railway station via Chadstone Shopping Centre. But the PTUA is concerned the project could leave the community worse off in the longer term by precluding a conventional train line along Wellington Road. “The previous government’s…
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Public transport users call for Westgate submarine
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for the introduction of a passenger submarine linking the bayside western suburbs of Melbourne with the CBD instead of the controversial Westgate Tunnel. “There’s clear demand for improved public transport in Melbourne’s west,” said PTUA’s maritime spokesperson Daniel Morton. “A passenger submarine can deliver this with minimal…
