Wednesday, 29 May 2024

Craigieburn train station

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (17:42): (924) My adjournment today is directed towards the Minister for Public and Active Transport, and the action I seek is for the minister to investigate a new overflow car park at Craigieburn station. As many of my constituents can affirm, navigating the roads, buses and trains in Craigieburn has become an increasingly arduous task. It has come to my attention that the overflow car park at Craigieburn station reaches maximum capacity on a daily basis, exacerbating the already daunting challenge many commuters find themselves with in finding suitable parking to catch their trains on time. The issue is compounded by insufficient funding and limited availability of bus services, particularly during peak hours in the mornings and afternoons, and the lack of viable options forces residents to rely on driving to the station or, worse, enduring lengthy journeys all the way to their workplaces. The frustration among affected residents is palpable, and it is disheartening to see their concerns continually overlooked by government.

Furthermore, it is very evident that the car park on Interlink Drive serves not only Craigieburn residents but those from all around surrounding growth areas like Donnybrook, Mickleham and Epping. Therefore addressing this parking shortage is not only a matter of local concern but one that impacts the broader northern suburbs, given the government has no plans for electrification beyond Craigieburn, which would be very wise. The underfunding of public transport services within the Northern Metro electorate exacerbates the situation, leading to a surge in congestion on our already overcrowded roads like Craigieburn Road and Mickleham Road.

I recently met with Dennis Moore at the Craigieburn Residents’ Association, and they have put to me a great proposal to use additional land to the south of the Craigieburn train maintenance facility between the Hume Highway to actually build additional car spaces at Craigieburn station. They have also suggested boosting the frequency of buses between 7 and 9 am and 4 and 6 pm. We know there has been some great research recently on buses – and forgive me, but I am a bit of a public transport nerd. If you look at places like Infrastructure Victoria and other research out there, it shows that the more frequent the bus, the better value it is – about $2.45 return for every dollar spent on frequent buses. I seek the action of the minister to investigate options for using the land at the south of the Craigieburn train maintenance facility for a car park and investigate boosting the frequency of buses between 7 and 9 am and 4 and 6 pm at Craigieburn station.