a comprehensive public transport plan for the east?

The Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC) recently considered the public transport announcements of the current government, and although we welcome a focus on grade separations, increasing the capacity of the Dandenong Line and the Melbourne Metro Tunnel we are concerned that several projects crucial to delivering an integrated and sustainable public transport network in the east are absent.

The ETC represents 1 million residents across the east of Melbourne yet there's little mention of the projects that these communities have told us are important to them.

Although there's feasibility studies underway for Rowville Rail and Doncaster Rail there's no mention of construction of these vital projects, which have been in various stages of planning for decades.

Although good to hear of capacity increases on the Dandenong Line, including nine carriage trains but it will require significant infrastructure upgrades. It's concerning that other lines in the east were not mentioned for capacity increases.
Upgrades of the interchanges at Dandenong, Box Hill and Ringwood stations are well overdue, these interchanges provide critical linkages to the bus network.

The ETC is keen to work with both the federal and state governments to achieve an integrated transport plan that provides better links between rail, trams and buses. Integrated transport and land use planning is crucial to fixing the deficiencies of the past to ensure we have a viable, efficient and well patronised public transport network into the future.