Melton City Council is calling on all major parties contesting the Federal election to commit to further investment in rail and roads as a matter of priority.
Council has launched its Let's get the City of Melton Moving campaign with a top priority being electrification of the Melton rail line, and new train stations at Mt Atkinson, Thornhill Park and Calder Park.
Also on the list are urgent upgrades to key roads including Hopkins Road, Melton Highway, and the Palmers Road Corridor north of the Western Highway (including Robinsons Road, Westwood Drive and Calder Park Drive).
Mayor Cr Steve Abboushi said with the population of the City of Melton set to almost double in the next 30 years to a size greater than Canberra, investment in adequate transport infrastructure needed to happen now.
"More than 70 per cent of our workforce travel outside the City of Melton to work every day, our major arterial roads are already heavily congested and our rail services at capacity," Mayor Abboushi said.
"At the rate we are growing, we can't afford to wait any longer for this critical investment."
Mt Atkinson resident Gaurav Sharma's daily commute takes him up to 1.5 hours by car to the city that is only 25 kms away from the CBD. He said he would like to take the train, but it presented too many challenges for him and his wife.
"We struggle with the train from Rockbank Station due to long travel times, unsafe parking, and overcrowding," he said.
What should be a 10-minute journey by car to the train station, can take up to 30- minutes with another 15-minutes to find parking. Overcrowded trains mean the couple are often unable to board and have to wait 20 minutes for the next one, adding more time to their commute.
Council is calling on the major parties to commit to electrification and duplication of the Melton rail line and three additional train stations in the City, which would allow for a 27% increase in public transport usage and 12,000 fewer cars on the road each day.
"We are grateful for the commitments we have received from both major parties to date, but there's a lot more investment needed for our community," Mayor Abboushi said.
"Our residents are spending more time travelling than what is needed, meaning less time spent with family and friends."
"Our growing community needs efficient, frequent public transport to get our them, where they need to be sooner and safer."
