Rowville-Rail-Study-Final-Stage-1-Report-FINAL

3. Existing and future conditions
Final Stage 1 Feasibility Report
Existing and future conditions
What issues or problems would the Rowville rail line solve? This Chapter looks at land uses,
travel patterns and transport provision now and in the future to illustrate the issues that the
rail line could – and should – address.
3.1 Overall context
Melbourne is the nation’s fastest growing capital. Its population is expected to reach five
million in less than twenty years. Most of Melbourne’s outward population growth is projected
to occur in the north and west of the city, with the west expected to nearly double in
population by 2030. Growth in jobs and services is expected to be focused in the CBD and
south-east.
Increasing population, traffic congestion, petrol prices and environmental awareness has
caused a substantial mode shift towards public transport in recent years. Train patronage
has increased by 70% in the last decade and 50% in the last five years alone. This has
resulted in rail demand approaching the capacity of the network, particularly through North
Melbourne and Richmond stations. Access to the city loop from Richmond is congested with
the number of train services serving all lines in the Caulfield and Burnley groups.
Increasing train services will also put increasing pressure on the many level crossings in
Melbourne, adding to traffic delays and further compromising safety and reliability.
These issues are spread across the rail network in general but are particularly strong in the
Dandenong rail corridor, especially as services have increased to serve the growth areas on
the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. The Dandenong line has only two tracks and ten level
crossings between Dandenong and Caulfield stations, and as discussed later in this report,
would need substantial improvement before further increases in rail services – including
those for a rail line to Rowville – can be implemented.
3.2 Study area
The potential catchment of the Rowville rail line is very broad; people that might use the line
could start or end their trips across a wide area. Rather than define a specific study area, we
have chosen to keep the definition broad so that all potential effects of the rail line can be
covered.
The statistical local areas (SLAs) that could potentially be served by the Rowville rail line are
illustrated in Figure 5.
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