The Andrews Labor Government will upgrade bus infrastructure and build more car parking spaces at stations across the South Western Victoria to make it quicker and easier for locals to get around.
Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney announced that the coach interchanges at Portland, Hamilton and Warrnambool stations will be upgraded with new shelters and seating.
More than 100 new car parks will be built at the eastern end of Warrnambool station, and existing spaces sealed and marked with extra lighting. Up to 50 spaces will be sealed and marked at Marshall Station to make it safer for commuters to park their cars and catch the train.
The upgraded interchanges will include additional seating and better shelter for passengers waiting for the bus. A new bus shelter will also be installed at the Koroit Street bus interchange and at the Deakin University Warrnambool bus stop.
The upgrades are part of the Andrews Labor Government’s Road and Rail Minor Works Program, which will deliver new car parks, more comfortable waiting areas, and better passenger information at train stations across rural and regional Victoria.
The $22.5 million Program was funded in last year’s Victorian State Budget, which provided $1.3 billion to improve regional public transport.
It is the product of extensive consultation with local communities during the development of the Regional Network Development Plan, and will improve public transport for thousands of people across Victoria.
Contracts are expected to be awarded by the end of April, construction is expected to commence in late-2017, and to be completed by the end of 2018.
In January, the Labor Government introduced the first new services on the Warrnambool line in more than a decade, with 10 new weekday services and the extension of a Geelong service to and from Warrnambool on Sundays.
The Labor Government has also started a $10 million package of works that will upgrade 20 high-risk level crossings between Waurn Ponds and Warrnambool by the end of the year, allowing speed restrictions to be lifted.
Crossings in Sandys Lane in Gnotuk, Phalps Road in Pirron Yallock, Tragowel Road in Tragowel and Back Larpent Road in Larpent have already been upgraded.
For more tender information, please visit tenderlink.com/victrack. For more information about the program, visit victrack.com.au/projects/key-projects/road-and-rail-minor-works-program
Quotes attributable to Member for Western Victoria Gayle Tierney
“The new shelters and upgraded interchanges will provide a more comfortable place for passengers to wait for the bus, and the extra spaces will reduce the daily scramble to get a park and catch the train.”
“Last year we listened to locals and now this program will deliver the day-to-day upgrades that make a real difference for people across South Western Victoria – better connecting them to work, education and each other.”