The Victorian government should increase train services in Melbourne’s north and west, extend eight tram routes and create six new express bus services within five years, Infrastructure Victoria has recommended.
The independent agency’s 30-year plan, released with 45 final recommendations, also urges cheaper off-peak public transport and collaboration with the commonwealth on a road user charge after a state levy on electric vehicles was ruled unconstitutional by the high court. The changes are framed as responses to climate change risks to buildings, roads and power lines, and to population growth.
Victoria has a target of 800,000 new homes by 2034, with 70% to be built in established suburbs. The state’s population, estimated at 6.9 million in 2024, is forecast to grow by about 4 million over the next 30 years. The plan aims to make the most of Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel, due to begin taking passengers in December.
Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Dr Jonathan Spear said the report’s $65bn, three-decade spending projection focuses on better use of existing investments and infrastructure. Some measures — including lowering speed limits to 30km/h in areas with children and creating separated bicycle corridors in Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Wangaratta — appeared in a draft plan in March. After consultation, the final plan adds measures to allow more train services in the city’s north.
Modelling shows many residents of suburbs such as Coburg and Brunswick could be forced to drive if services are not improved. Commuters there already wait up to 20 minutes for trains at peak times — four to five times longer than stations a similar distance from the CBD in the south-east. Trams on Sydney Road run up to 27% slower than the network average because of mixed traffic and are predicted to slow further by 2041.
Upgrades to City Loop power and signalling, freed up by the Metro Tunnel, and an extra track on the Upfield line would allow up to nine trains an hour instead of four, Infrastructure Victoria says. The agency has modelled tram extensions that leverage capacity from the Metro Tunnel, calling for expansion of eight routes over five years at a cost of up to $5.7bn to encourage housing near new stops.
Recommended tram works include linking routes 11 and 67 to Fishermans Bend — where 80,000 residents are planned by 2050 — and extending route 3 to Hughesdale via Chadstone. Tram connections to Fishermans Bend and Chadstone were promised in 2018 but have not yet been delivered.
The review flags Melbourne’s rapidly growing west as poorly served by buses and trains: 63% of western residents drive to work compared with 32% in inner Melbourne. Recommendations include extending Metro services to Melton, adding tracks from Sunshine to Caroline Springs, and building new stations at Thornhill Park, Mount Atkinson and Altona North.
In areas without rail, Infrastructure Victoria proposes six bus rapid transit networks using larger buses with dedicated lanes and platform-style stops, similar to systems in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. It also calls for expanded regional bus and coach services, noting modelling that high-quality coach routes are likely more viable than new passenger rail to some smaller regional cities.
The plan recommends lower off-peak fares, citing research that bus patronage can rise by up to 19% for every $1 fare discount. The 45 recommendations cover transport, health, housing, energy, water, social infrastructure and the environment, and identify eight additional changes Victoria will probably need over 30 years that do not require immediate action.
The report will be tabled in parliament this week; the government must respond within a year.
