Councils, MPs and community unite to fix Frankston public transport

POLITICAL differences have been put aside and municipal transport priorities tempered in the quest to build the Frankston rail extension. A regional advisory committee will report to Infrastructure Australia that the key to solving inadequate public transport connectivity in the region hinges on building a double-track rail extension to Langwarrin at least, or potentially Baxter, with trains running every 15 minutes.

Earlier this year, Infrastructure Australia (IA) listed “Frankston Public Transport Connectivity” as one of its six key “near-term” nation-building projects in Victoria.

The national infrastructure body then tasked a local advisory committee to explore 23 ideas that would significantly improve public transport and revitalise the region’s economy.

The new committee was led by Committee for Greater Frankston and members included Liberal and Labor MPs, local council transport department heads, representatives of Monash University’s Peninsula campus and Chisholm’s Frankston TAFE, and business and community group leaders.

Frankston City and Mornington Peninsula Shire’s respective public transport priorities have merged, with broad agreement that a rail extension is pivotal to scaling up the region’s future bus network. Liberal and Labor politicians have put aside public transport point-scoring to work together on identifying which train extension options would deliver best value for money.

The advisory committee’s detailed, 54-page document went to IA on the 16 November 2020. It acknowledges there is broad agreement that Frankston and Mornington Peninsula bus networks also needed to be better optimised and more frequent to boost usage.

However, more buses alone was not the answer. The report recommends reworking the entire public transport network around an extended rail backbone, supported by a series of ancillary “commuter connection hub” projects to improve localised “car-to-train, bus-to-train, and pedestrian–cycle path-to-train connections”.

Committee for Greater Frankston chief executive Ginevra Hosking said two priority options that provided the “minimum 15-minute train service” were recommended by the overwhelming majority of advisory committee members:

1. Twin tracks to Langwarrin plus a new Leawarra station (near Monash Peninsula) and new Langwarrin station.
2. Twin tracks to Baxter plus new Leawarra and Langwarrin stations.

“Importantly, both options allow a 15-minute service, a new Leawarra–Monash campus station servicing the growing Frankston health and education precinct (with estimated patronage making it the 15th busiest suburban station), and moving the main commuter parking outside Frankston’s CBD, freeing up the city centre for other users,” she said.

Related projects that would enhance the rail extension included:

• Train commuter “park and ride” facilities near Langwarrin and other stations.
• Increasing the number of express services by improving timetabling.
• Optimisation of local bus network.
• Linking existing recreational cycling trails to new stations and making them pedestrian–cycling paths.
• Ancillary road improvements near the new stations.

Ms Hosking said key benefits included connecting at least another 37,000 Frankston East, Frankston South, Karingal and Langwarrin residents to the metropolitan rail network, and 2000-plus commuter car spaces for travellers from the Mornington Peninsula (population 165,000). The rail extension has an estimated annual economic value of more than $572 million.

First proposed more than 90 years ago, in 1929, an extension to the Frankston line has an initial budgeted federal commitment of $225 million. However, the Victorian Labor government has yet to financially support or commit to its construction.

Ms Hosking said the most controversial aspect of the advisory committee’s report was “what to do if, without state government investment, there was insufficient funds to duplicate and electrify all 8km of the line to Baxter”.

“One shorter-term option we investigated was electrification of the existing single track rather than replacement with a double track, on the assumption that a second track could be built in future,” she said.

“However, a single track would severely reduce train frequency. A single track to Langwarrin should support a 15-minute ‘turn up and go’ service. A single track to Baxter would not.”

Advisory committee chair Christine Richards said: “This report to IA highlights the nationally significant transport, economic and social benefits of extending the Frankston train line. The project is critical to unlocking the potential of our region.

“The Committee for Greater Frankston is calling on all state and federal politicians to commit to building the rail extension with a minimum 15-minute service.

“Almost a century is too long to wait for any project. It’s time to extend the line, build the missing station car parks, fill the trains and run them fast to get public transport usage across the region back on track.”

Click here for the full report.
Report: Public transport connectivity to, and through, Frankston

Related media coverage:

Plans to electrify Frankston railway line, extend to Baxter gain momentum, Herald Sun, Brittany Goldsmith, 24 June
A push to upgrade the Frankston railway line to help connect Mornington Peninsula commuters is gaining momentum, with 23 ideas for the future narrowed down to two as the group behind it awaits a green light from the State Government.

Councils, MP and Community unite to fix region’s public transport, Mornington Peninsula Magazine, July 2020
The proposed Frankston train line extension has been listed as one of Victoria’s six key nation-building projects by Infrastructure Australia. The independent organisation listed improving public transport to and through Frankston as a national infrastructure priority earlier this year – one of the top 200 projects in the nation – and then asked a local advisory committee to recommend a plan.

Report backs shorter rail extension, Frankston Times, Brodie Cowburn, 22 June 2020
A PLAN to electrify and duplicate the Frankston rail line to Langwarrin has been endorsed by a committee of MPs, council employees, and local business representatives.

United approach to fix public transport, Mornington Peninsula News, Mike Hast, 22 June 2020
POLITICAL differences have been put aside and municipal transport priorities tempered in the quest to extend the railway beyond Frankston.
A regional advisory committee will report to Infrastructure Australia that the key to solving inadequate public transport connectivity in the region hinges on building a double-track rail extension to Langwarrin at least, or potentially Baxter, with trains running every 15 minutes. Earlier this year, Infrastructure Australia (IA) listed “Frankston Public Transport Connectivity” as one of its six key “near-term” nation-building projects in Victoria.

Frankston Community Notice Board, 21 August 2020
Frankston City Council recently wrote to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo) thanking him and the Australian Government for projects coming soon to Frankston City.