By Natalie Anderson
The Victorian State Government is removing 110 congested level crossings throughout Melbourne, four of those are situated within Melton.
Construction is on track to remove Melton’s crossings by 2026. The locations earmarked for crossing removal are on Coburns Road, Hopkins Road (in Truganina), Exford Road and Ferris Road.
State MP for Melton, Steve McGhie firmly believes the initiative will be of great benefit for the wider community.
“There are a couple of benefits from removing these level crossings,” says Mr McGhie.
“Let’s just start with the safety. Level crossings are quite dangerous, not only for vehicle traffic but also for pedestrian traffic.”
Prior to becoming a local politician, Mr McGhie was a trained paramedic. While working in that field he saw a number of pedestrians hit by trains.
“I’m not suggesting that is why these level crossings are being removed within Melton, but in other locations that is the reason why the level crossings were removed,” says Mr McGhie.
According to data from the ARTC (Australian Rail Track Corporation), between January of 2020 and February of 2024, there were an estimated 186 collisions at level crossings throughout Australia with 44 resulting in fatalities.
The State Government says that by the year 2030, the removal project will be the largest of its kind in Victoria’s history. It has already started site investigations at Ferris Road and Hopkins Road to gather more information and help support designing development.
According to Victoria’s Big Build website, the level crossings at Coburns Road and Exford Road will be removed by building a new rail trench. The level crossings at Ferris Road and Hopkins Road will go by building new road bridges. It says ‘all will be gone for good by 2026.’
Construction is set to start by the end of 2024. However, it is yet to be determined which level crossing will be removed first.
“At some stage of the removal project, replacement buses will be utilized, this will be kept to a minimum,” says Mr McGhie.
With a substantial amount of the construction being completed at night, this will reduce the use of replacement buses.
Many local residents feel the use of replacement buses will be a slight inconvenience.
“I am not a fan of coaches,” says local Uni student Oliver. “But, if we are going to get better services and less traffic congestion in the end, then I think it will be worth the wait.”
Originally, Melton was not marked to have level crossing removals but the Labor Government finally included the Melton level crossings and brought forward the project by two years.
“It’s a fantastic outcome for Melton, with such a huge growing population. We are trying to get more people on the trains, make the trains more reliable. And make the roads a lot safer for motorists” says Mr McGhie.
