Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (23:03:23) — My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public Transport, and the action I seek is in relation to the elevation of the Upfield train line through Melbourne’s inner north, which is my region. As the minister is aware, the Upfield line has a very high concentration of level crossings. In fact there are 12 level crossings on that line. In relation to that, the government has announced that it will remove three of those level crossings — that is, three out of 12 on the Upfield line. However, the scale and scope of these works present a great opportunity for a single bigger project that would elevate the Upfield line from Parkville to Coburg and remove all 12 crossings in one hit. Quite unlike the south-east, there is significant community and council support for the concept. It might not impact on residents in the same way it does on those in the south-east, but we want a sky rail.
On top of that this would have a fantastic benefit to cyclists and pedestrians. I mentioned earlier today that we have a very busy Upfield bike path that has been at capacity during peak travel times for quite some time. So by elevating that section of line, we could effectively create a bike superhighway below the track and safely separate it from other vehicles. As well, the land could be turned into open space, which will be of significant utility given the incredible increasing density that we are experiencing in our area. Accordingly I call on the minister to take a big picture view and fund this proposal for the Upfield corridor.
