CALLS are growing for a railway station between Newport and Seaholme to service Newport, Williamstown North and Altona North residents.
As reported by the Weekly on March 12, the state’s public transport lobby is calling on the state government to build a station west of Newport and duplicate the Altona loop on the Werribee line.
In its state budget submission, the Public Transport Users Association calls for a station near Maddox and Champion roads to provide access to educational institutions such as Bayside College.
PTUA president Tony Morton said the single track on the Altona loop — taking in Westona, Altona and Seaholme stations — “affected timetabling on the entire western rail network”. The distance from Altona to Seaholme station is 970 metres. The next closest station — Newport — is 4.67 kilometres away.
Altona North resident Cathy Nikolioudakis said that when she worked in the city, she backtracked to Altona station to catch a city-bound train.
“I started work at 6.30am so had to get the 5.40am bus to Altona station then get the train into the city.” She suggested a new station be built at the corner of Rosshire and Blenheim roads, which is near two schools, sports grounds and a mosque under construction.
Western Metropolitan Greens MP Colleen Hartland said Public Transport Victoria had refused to release, under freedom of information, documents pertaining to the cost of duplicating the Altona loop.
PTV director Norman Gray told a public meeting in Altona last May that it would cost $10-12 million to duplicate the track between Seaholme and Westona, Ms Hartland said.
“Duplication of the single track as far as is possible is the only solution for fixing public transport in the area.”
PTV and the Public Transport Minister, Terry Mulder, had not responded to questions by the time of going to press.
