- Premier
The Andrews Labor Government has unveiled a massive Suburban Transport Blitz, with record funding for road and rail projects that create thousands of jobs, slash congestion and deliver on our promises.
From upgrading the roundabout at the end of your local street to building our state's biggest transport projects, the Victorian Budget 2019/20 will get you where you need to go.
In just four years the Labor Government has invested $46.7 billion to overhaul the state's transport network. That includes getting on with the projects we promised - removing our most dangerous and congested level crossings, building the Metro Tunnel, extending the train line to Mernda and upgrading every regional rail line in the state.
And we've upgraded the Monash and Tullamarine freeways, as well as fixing hundreds of kilometres of suburban streets.
But as our suburbs grow, we know this pace must become our new normal - that's why, with this year's Budget, we're undertaking a massive Suburban Transport Blitz.
The $27.4 billion program of works will radically reshape our suburbs and fundamentally change the way people get around.
It includes $15.8 billion to fully fund and build North East Link, as well as $6.6 billion to remove another 25 of our most dangerous and congested level crossings, with 75 crossings gone for good by 2025.
We will transform the suburban train network with $3.4 billion to deliver massive upgrades to the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Hurstbridge lines.
The funding will upgrade signalling, power and every single station along the Sunbury Line to enable the rollout of new High Capacity Metro Trains - cutting travel times and providing for an extra 113,000 passengers in the peak on the Sunbury Line.
The Labor Government's huge investment also includes $750 million to duplicate the Cranbourne Line - doubling the number of trains in the peak and delivering trains every 10 minutes at every station from Cranbourne to the city.
A further $547 million will deliver the next stage of the Hurstbridge Line Upgrade, duplicating 4.5 kilometres of track and the construction of bigger, better stations at Greensborough and Montmorency.
A further $49.6 million will see three new stations built in and around Bendigo - at Goornong, Raywood and Huntly - with more funding to plan the next stage of the Bendigo Line Upgrade, enabling trains every 40 minutes during off-peak times and the re-establishment of a station at Harcourt.
The Budget also includes $608 million to upgrade the local roads that drivers use every day, including $22.6 million to fix some of our busiest and most congested intersections - helping locals get home sooner.
It also funds planning and pre-construction on intersection upgrades along South Road in Moorabbin and Western Port Highway, to better connect communities and keep traffic moving in our rapidly growing south-eastern suburbs.
While we build the major projects Victorians need now, we're also getting on with the projects we will need in decades to come as our city grows and more people move to our booming regional centres.
The Budget delivers $100 million towards the Western Rail Plan - the first step in fully separating regional and metropolitan services on the Geelong and Ballarat lines - boosting services to Melbourne's west and enabling fast rail to the regions in the future.
And $300 million has also been set aside for planning, technical investigations and development for the Suburban Rail Loop.
The 90-kilometre rail ring will connect every train line from Frankston to Werribee, completely transforming how we move around Melbourne's suburbs and run trains to the Melbourne Airport for the first time.
And just as we're planning for the future of our train network, we're also planning the next major road upgrades across our suburbs, including getting planning and pre-construction on major upgrades to Hall Road and Narre Warren North Road started.
And because the smallest projects can often make a big difference, we're investing $45.4 million in new bike and pedestrian paths across Melbourne, including $27.3 million for safety upgrades and dedicated bike lanes on St Kilda Road.
As noted by Premier Daniel Andrews
"From fixing a pot hole at the end of your street to the biggest transport projects in Victoria's history - this Budget will get you where you need to go."
"Our Suburban Transport Blitz is transforming the way we travel around Melbourne - slashing road congestion, boosting train services and getting people home sooner."
As stated by Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan
"These projects should have been built years ago. We can't change that, but we can keep our promises and keep delivering the projects Victorians voted for and need - and that's exactly what we're doing."
