Melbourne may have lost its seven-year standing as the Economist Intelligence Unit’s ‘Most Liveable City’, but that hasn’t stopped The Greens from starting to plan for a ‘Melbourne Metro 2’ project, which aims to ensure a more liveable future for Victoria’s capital.
To maintain Melbourne as a liveable city through massive anticipated growth, the Greens will be planning the Melbourne Metro 2 Rail Project (MM2) – a sustainable alternative to major road projects such as the East West link, the West Gate Tunnel and the North East Link.
The project would provide residents in Melbourne’s North, West and Fishermans Bend with a reliable and high-capacity metro rail service, and would include a new tunnel between Clifton Hill and Newport, new underground stations in Fitzroy and Fishermans Bend, High capacity signalling, new metro trains, and level crossing removals on the Mernda and Werribee lines.
It would also extend the Werribee line to Wyndham Vale, build the Wollert Rail extension, and provide for Doncaster rail planning by including a business case, detailed costing and a cost benefit analysis.
New business hubs and job creation in these areas are expected to put significant pressure on the existing transport network.
According to The Greens, the MM2 project has the potential to support 26,400 passengers in each direction during peak hour, representing an addition of 20,100 passengers for the Werribee line and 19,200 for the Mernda line for city-bound services during peak hour.