Gippsland’s population would be slugged $120,000 per person if a Nationals idea to build a tunnel between Melbourne and Pakenham went ahead, an RMIT researcher claims.
The estimation is based on costings from the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project – a nine kilometre section of underground rail which is costing taxpayers $11 billion.
Last week Nationals candidate Sheridan Bond said the party was investigating ways to decongest the Gippsland line and was considering plans for a tunnel or a new line on a separate parcel of land between the city and Pakenham to boost punctuality.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan told State Parliament on Thursday the Nationals’ plans would “see the acquisition of hundreds of properties and cost billions of dollars” in taxpayers’ money.
RMIT researcher and PhD candidate at the Centre for Urban Research Todd Denham said the “political promise” would be “unlikely to ever go ahead” and could not be justified on a cost-benefit analysis based on Gippsland’s population.
“Even if a Pakenham to CBD tunnel cost half as much per kilometre [as Melbourne Metro Tunnel project], it would be a $30 billion project,” Mr Denham said.
“If the population of Gippsland is 250,000 people, a $10 billion project equates to $40,000 per head of population. $30 billion would be $120,000 per head.
“My problem with these plans is that they take up the space for proper planning and public discussion of projects which actually might go ahead and have real benefits to the people of Gippsland.”
Ms Bond said the party was also considering a new rail line out of Melbourne on a separate parcel of land to improve travel times for Gippsland commuters following the construction of the newly-opened sky rail project on the metropolitan line.
“Given the amount of land acquisition required, a surface proposal would probably cost somewhere in the same order of magnitude,” Mr Denham said.
“You could look at that it that it would probably only service the settlements east of the city and it wouldn’t have the capacity to shift 250,000 people in and out each day anyway.
“However, the other way to look at it is that it would probably lead to people shifting to Gippsland but given the capacity constraints of a new line and the amount of extra population that it could generate, you would still struggle to justify such a large project.”
Mr Denham, who is investigating the regional development outcomes of the increasing number of people to commute to Melbourne from a rural area, said it would take a “brave government” to acquire the land required for a dedicated line through Melbourne.
“It would be years in the making. The metro tunnel is taking three-to-five years to build so from now it wouldn’t be ready until the mid 2020s at least,” he said.
“There’s a difference between talking about major massive infrastructure and talking about making sure the service that is already there runs smoothly and efficiently.
“I think these kinds of plans get in the way of talking about and planning for fixing the existing service as well as other forms of regional development that may mean people in Gippsland have better access to jobs closer to where they live.”
It follows questions raised in parliament by Member for Morwell Russell last week who criticised the government for the Gippsland line’s ongoing disruptions, delays, cancellations and replacement services.
In a statement, Ms Bond said “no-one is talking about a $30 billion tunnel. We don’t want to be developing policy on the back of an envelope which is why the Nationals are committed to investigating the options that could be pursued.”
“Unfortunately, the current Labor Government, having looked after Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo with the Regional Rail Link, has made it clear it’s not interested in services in Gippsland. We are, and we will have more to say about our approach before the election.”
