By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
DUPLICATION of the railway line between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds would remove a “choke point” for local rail services, according to Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson.
Ms Henderson this week hosted deputy prime minister Warren Truss as part of her campaign for improved rail services in Geelong.
“As Geelong and south-west Victoria continue to grow, the duplication of the rail track, particularly between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds, is becoming a greater priority for our region,” she said.
“The current (15km) single track between Geelong and Waurn Ponds is a choke point on the line, as trains running in the opposite direction cannot pass each other.
“This places many constraints on the train services that can be offered to and from Geelong, Colac and south-west Victoria.
“For instance, 13 trains leave Geelong station prior to 8am (but) only six depart from Waurn Ponds.
“Services are also constrained by the fact there’s only one operational platform at South Geelong and Marshall stations.”
The Geelong line is V/Line’s busiest commuter line with more than 4 million trips in 2013/2014 after patronage grew 18.5 per cent in the previous five years.
Public Transport Users Association Geelong convenor Paul Westcott said the duplication was the remaining key public transport improvement needed in the region.
“Now that there’s been a change of management at the top of the Federal Government we can perhaps look to federal funding for public transport in Geelong.”
Mr Westcott said the project would not have to duplicate the single-track tunnel between Geelong and South Geelong stations.
“That bottleneck wouldn’t be an issue because it only takes two or three minutes to get through.
“As long as you have duplication of sufficiently long parts of the track you can have services passing each other.
“The project could be staged depending on the funds available but as Armstrong Creek grows more people will use Waurn Ponds station, creating more pressure to finalise the duplication.”
