A key part of the think tank's ambitious network overhaul is a radical reworking of the City Loop.
Estimated to cost at least $2 billion, this City Loop upgrade would allow two new cross-city train routes to flow through the CBD. The upgrades would only happen once the $11 billion Metro Tunnel opens in 2025.
Premier Daniel Andrews visits the construction site at the southern end of the Metro tunnel.Credit:Eddie Jim
By building the two new sections of track – one between Flagstaff and North Melbourne stations, and another between Parliament and Richmond – an extra 20 trains could run in each direction through the city each hour, the group finds.
"That’s the equivalent to a 10-lane freeway through the heart of the CBD”, the institute’s president John Hearsch said.
The reconfiguration of the City Loop, identified by the government in a key 2012 transport report as the "final stage in delivering the metro-style network", would see Craigieburn trains run through to Frankston, and the Upfield line travel to Glen Waverley.
The public transport plan would also see the suburban train network extended by electrifying tracks to Baxter and Clyde in Melbourne's south-east, Wyndham Vale in the west, Melton in the north-west and Wallan in Melbourne's north.
If Melbourne is to successfully accommodate projected growth, a step-change from sole occupant car use to public transport is essential.
Metropolitan train lines would also be extended from Lalor to Wollert and from Glen Waverley to Knox City, under the long-term vision for the train, tram and bus networks.
Since the 1990s, the Rail Futures Institute said Melbourne's population spread had been dictated by land development rather than transport and planning.
Decades of transport planning deficiency had led to the growth of car-dependent, low-density outer urban subdivisions beyond the reach of efficient public transport.
"Inadequate public transport and infrastructure have contributed to poor public health outcomes, social isolation, family violence issues, poor access to jobs, unacceptably long commuting times, traffic congestion and high infrastructure costs," the report says.
The experts say the government's $50 billion Suburban Rail Loop project is a "welcome alternative to freeway proposals".Credit:Justin McManus
"If Melbourne is to successfully accommodate projected growth, a step-change from sole occupant car use to public transport is essential."
While Melbourne has a land-use plan, the institute says there is no complementary integrated long-term transport plan – despite such a plan having been government policy since 2010.
"Credit must be given to the high level of transport investment in Melbourne by the current state government," Mr Hearsch said. "However, the public projects are mostly 'catch-up' investments and are not keeping pace with Melbourne’s growth."
The government's $50 billion Suburban Rail Loop project linking Cheltenham and Werribee in a ring around the city is a “bold” investment and a "welcome alternative to freeway proposals", the experts say.
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But the report calls for an alternative plan that would use new and cheaper technology such as high-capacity trams or next-generation electric buses.
It also calls for several orbital routes, including connections between Elsternwick with Rowville via Monash, Sunshine and Altona via Footscray, and Monash University and the airport via Box Hill, Doncaster and Broadmeadows, among others. These routes would likely use light rail or high-capacity electric buses.
The experts call for a doubling of the tram network's capacity, including 12 tram extensions and new connections to train stations, especially in the northern and western parts of the CBD.
Trams must be given priority on congested Sydney Road, Victoria Street, Bridge Road, Swan Street, Toorak Road and Chapel Street, while hook turns should be created wherever feasible at traffic lights where cars and trams share road space to give trams more time to cross.
A spokeswoman for Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the government already had "a $70 billion pipeline" of transport projects, and that this included the Metro Tunnel and the proposed Suburban Rail Loop around Melbourne's middle suburbs.
"The Metro Tunnel will untangle the City Loop and allow more trains to run more often and create more space to get you where you need to be sooner," the spokeswoman said. She said the Suburban Rail Loop project would "reshape Melbourne".
Timna Jacks is Transport Reporter at The Age
Clay Lucas is a senior reporter for The Age. Clay has worked at The Age since 2005, covering urban affairs, transport, state politics, local government and workplace relations for The Age and Sunday Age.
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