Doncaster railway line
1890-1969: Early concepts:One of the earliest proposals for a railway to Doncaster was in 1890, and involved an extension of the Kew branch line in a tunnel under the High Street hill, then across the route of Outer Circle line to a terminus at Warrandyte, with a branch line running to Templestowe.[4] In 1928 the Railways Standing Committee of the Victorian Parliament recommended a plan which also involved an extension of the Kew branch line, this time to terminate at Doncaster itself.[5] That proposal was included in the Metropolitan Town Planning Commission's 1929 plan for Melbourne, together with the Glen Waverley railway line, which was subsequently constructed.[6]
Concrete moves towards building the line were made in 1969, when The Age announced that the Victorian Railways had started detailed planning for a line which would run along the median of the Eastern Freeway and then on to Doncaster.[7] The line featured in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan, but no timeline for construction was set, whereas the building of the freeway was to start in the following year.
1969-1972: Work begins:
In December 1971 the Eastern Railway Construction Act 1971 was passed by the state parliament,[8] setting the route as along the Eastern Freeway to Thompsons Road, then through Templestowe to Blackburn Road, Doncaster, involving the demolition of 30 houses. However this route was not without opposition, as in 1972 The Herald reported that the outer section of the line would be investigated by the Parliamentary Public Works Committee.[7] The City of Box Hill rejected a plan put forward by the City of Doncaster & Templestowe as it would cut into open space along Koonung Creek, and Doncaster residents objected to a route running though the Eastern Golf Course to Blackburn Road. In December 1972 the parliamentary report was delivered and recommended the original route to be constructed as opposed to the 6 alternatives, and criticised the government for allowing development on the proposed routes.[7] The outer section of the line was estimated to be $23.5 million, the total cost of the line being reported as $41 million. A terminus-to-city travel time of 20–25 minutes was expected.[7]
See much more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doncaster_railway_line
History of the Doncaster Railway Station
It doesn't yet exist.....
Herald SunOctober 29, 2014 9:00pm
THOSE of us who have the misfortune to live under the iron rule of the comrades at Yarra Council are used to seeing posters telling us we need “TRAINS NOT TOLL ROADS” and “YES to Doncaster Rail, NO to East West Toll Road”.
Indeed, if you’ve visited Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond or North Carlton lately, you’d be lucky to avoid them.
That building a railway line to Doncaster instead of the East West Tunnel happens to be the policy of the Greens Party under its paramount leader, Greg Barber, is, of course, a complete coincidence.
On the face of it, Doncaster Rail sounds like a no brainer. There’s a huge amount of land available for the line along the Eastern Freeway, it’s been on the public transport “to do” list since the 1890s and, well, it just makes sense to build a line to relieve congestion on the Eastern Freeway. It’s also unfair on the City of Manningham that it is serviced by neither trains nor trams. But, while it might seem like a good idea, it’s actually a shocker, as a report released on Tuesday by Transport Minister Terry Mulder shows.
Doncaster Rail is a touchy subject for the present State Government. Before the previous election, while it was still in opposition, the Liberals were all for the project. On the day the election writs were issued in 2010, then leader Ted Baillieu pledged to spend $6.5 million on a study into the line. He said: “The first step is to plan it and find a route, in detail with the community, then find the funds and then build it.”
Finding the route turned out to take longer than expected. It wasn’t until March last year Mulder released a report saying the best route for the railway would be, you guessed it, along the Eastern Freeway.
This week he dropped the response to the feasibility study promised back when Americain won the Melbourne Cup.
So why is it a shocker? The first reason is that although Doncaster has no trams or trains, it is actually very well connected to the city by buses. The Doncaster Area Rapid Transit, which began its life around the time Baillieu began talking up the railway, was created by the previous government after Sir Rod Eddington had pointed out the public transport shortages in Manningham.
This year, about 3.8 million trips will be taken on it. It is reasonable to assume therefore that the majority of patronage, at least initially, on Doncaster Rail would come from the existing bus service.
Then there’s the fact that some of the stations along the proposed route to Doncaster on the Eastern Freeway would be in areas where there’s pretty much nothing at the moment but vacant space. If you build a station, no doubt they will come but, as this week’s report makes clear, in most cases they will come by car. That is to say passengers will end up driving to the new stations in order to catch the train.
LEAVING that aside, there is the question of how far out to Doncaster you build the thing. On the face of it, the most obvious place is under Doncaster Hill — but that would require tunnelling and a deep underground station, which the report makes clear would be prohibitively expensive for what it estimates would be only 600 walk-up passengers during peak hour.
Instead, it suggests the line terminate at the Doncaster Park-and-Ride with a bus connection to Doncaster Shopping Town or wherever it is people want to go to.
The final reason why Doncaster Rail is a dud is that, as the report argues, you can’t build a railway line to Doncaster without building a rail tunnel from Clifton Hill to Southern Cross station. The alternative, running the trains through the Hurstbridge lines, is problematic at the moment as that line is close to capacity, especially with the increased patronage of the South Morang, soon to be Mernda, line.
We Support Doncaster Rail
Ultimately, Manningham requires a mass transit solution to its public transport woes, and, through the partially completed Doncaster Rail Study, rapid transit heavy rail has been found to be a viable solution.By 2030, Council expects that Doncaster Hill will accommodate more than 10,000 residents and 5,400 apartments, along with several commercial offices in the area, and a possible expansion of Westfield Doncaster – all of which will generate significant traffic congestion without mode shift to public transport, which a rail station on the Hill would accommodate
However, PTV have advised that rail to Doncaster cannot be delivered until 2029, at the earliest.
Therefore, Council will continue to strongly advocate to the State Government for a commitment to plan, fund and deliver rail to Doncaster Hill by 2029, and in the interim, secure the Eastern Freeway reservation / corridor for public transport purposes. Council’s advocacy will continue to be facilitated by our Integrated Transport Advisory Committee
Where are we now?
In October 2014, the former Liberal State Government released the findings of the final ‘Doncaster Rail Study: Phase One Recommendations Report’ confirming that a rail line between the CBD and Doncaster Park and Ride is feasible. Further to this, Public Transport Victoria (PTV) suggested that rail to Doncaster should be delivered by 2029, as part of the delivery of Stage 3 of rail infrastructure projects contained in their ‘Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail’, (PTV, 2012). However, to date, the current Labor State Government has not committed to proceeding with Phase Two of the Study and has not provided any further commitment on the matter. Therefore, Council’s efforts throughout 2015 and 2016 have involved ongoing advocacy to encourage the State Government to fund and commit to complete Phase Two of the Study, with the purpose of Phase Two involving an investigation of the engineering and environmental implications of the preferred ‘Rapid Transit’ alignment, station locations, funding mechanisms to pay for the project and further understand what needs to be done to ensure the rail line is extended as far as Doncaster Hill.
Irrespective of the above, Council has continued to advocate for Doncaster Rail namely in association with activities and advocacy undertaken by the former Doncaster Rail Advocacy Steering Committee (DRASC) throughout 2014/15, and the newly established Integrated Transport Advisory Committee (ITAC) from 2016.
What is the 'Phase Two' Study?
As a part of Council’s ongoing advocacy for Doncaster Rail, consultant’s URS (who also undertook the State Government-led Phase 1 study) were commissioned by Council to assess what milestone-related tasks need to be undertaken (by all relevant stakeholders) between now and 2029, in order to ensure that the Doncaster Rail project can be successfully delivered by this date. URS’s findings have been outlined in the ‘Doncaster Rail Prospective Implementation Program’ report, containing recommendations to guide Council in its short-term advocacy objectives.
The URS report concludes that Phase Two of the Feasibility Study needs to be completed by October 2016, as the first of many milestones that will require to be progressively achieved.
In PTV’s ‘Metropolitan Rail Network Development Plan’, it is clearly stated that completing ‘detailed planning work’ for Doncaster Rail is a matter of priority, in order to ensure the delivery of the Doncaster Rail Line by 2029. This cannot be achieved unless the State Government reassesses its position regarding the completion of stage two of the Doncaster Rail Study.
The URS Report was commissioned to assist Council to continue its advocacy on Doncaster Rail. This report identifies the necessary advocacy steps and actions required to ensure that the delivery of Doncaster Rail can be achieved by 2029, which is the delivery time that is supported by Public Transport Victoria (PTV) within their published ‘Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail, 2012’.
The URS Report seeks to identify where Council should focus its short-term advocacy efforts to encourage the State Government to plan and prepare for the future construction of Doncaster Rail, if the project is to be realistically delivered within 15 years. This approach acknowledges the current Labor Government’s transport priorities (of which Doncaster Rail is presently not one) by seeking to continue further investigation and assessment of the project, rather than the delivery of the physical infrastructure within their current term of government.
http://www.doncasterrail.com/
Doncaster to wait 30 more years for a railway line.
Residents of a Melbourne suburb that has been waiting 125 years for a rail line have just found out they'll have to wait at least another 30.Doncaster has no rail or tram lines despite plans first being proposed in 1890 and construction actually starting in the 1970s.
The city's newest rail line will involve construction of two nine-kilometre rail tunnels and five new underground stations at Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain.
Now Infrastructure Victoria has laid down a 30-year strategy for the state and "filtered out" plans for a Doncaster rail line.
"This option has a high cost, and feasibility studies indicate that few people will change to public transport if a heavy rail service were available compared to the existing bus service," Infrastructure Victoria's report says.
May 20, 2016
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/doncaster-to-wait-at-least-30-more-years-for-rail-line-20160520-gp0a38.html
The unfulfilled promise of 1888: "A railway is to be constructed from Canterbury to Doncaster shortly"
"55 Splendid allotments will be offered by Auction as above by Robt. L Hair, Auctioneer, Glenferrie in conjunction with Squire Aspinall, Agent, Box Hill. This valuable property is situated right in the centre of Doncaster Township and on the main Doncaster Road, between the Tower and Dr. Fitzgerald's magnificent residence. A Post and Telegraph delivery throughout the Township. A railway is to be constructed from Canterbury to Doncaster shortly, and is likely to run through the land now offered for sale, or terminate thereon. magnificent Views of splendid Mountain Scenery are to be had from any portion of the estate, also a good view of the city. Purchasers shoudl not lose this chance of securing a fine allotment (which will be sold at a great bargain) either for building or speculative purposes, as a lot of money is bound to be made out of resale. NOTE THE TERMS: 5 pound per lot deposit, and balance extending over 3 years at 6 per cent.Trains will leave Princes bridge Station for Box Hill (where cabs are waiting to convey intending purchasers to the ground) at 12.35, 1.15, 2.15, 3.5
1888"
Heights of Doncaster 1888 Auctioneer's Plans. Batten & Percy (Firm) Shows location of "Doncaster Tower" as well as Tower Hotel and residences of "Mr Serpill" and "Dr Fitzgerald". Tower Street (Firth Street) -- Beaconsfield Street -- Carnarvon Street -- Meader Street
http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/96143
No comments:
Post a Comment