The call comes after a drop in the number of cars travelling to the CBD. City of Melbourne figures show public transport is the preferred means of travel, accounting for 67 per cent of all journeys in 2006, compared with 36 per cent in 1999.
Professor Currie said he was amazed the Government was still examining new road tunnels to the city. "Public transport dominates access to the city and the biggest single problem we've got is that there's not enough capacity on our railways," he said.The proposed link would run from Footscray, through Parkville and under Melbourne University, and under the CBD to South Yarra, and look something like this:
If they took this route, they could have it cross existing lines, with interchanges with the Broadmeadows and Upfield lines and the City Loop.
Though I'm wondering if they didn't miss a trick by not having it go east from Melbourne University, under Fitzroy and Collingwood, interchanging with the Epping and Hurstbridge lines at Victoria Park, and emerging on the median of the Eastern Freeway, where it becomes the long-promised Doncaster line (immediately taking more cars off the road):
It's bullsit. Great, but bullshit. Like you note, there are better, more needed, more sensible routes. But it's all about the money... I think that if the govt paid for it (waiting patiently for our favourite economic commie, kenneth davidson from The Age to explain how) then we could do something sensible.
It reminds me of the ADSL2 thing - everyone loves it, everyone want's a bit of that action. Yet no private enterprise will wire up the outback - cos they cannot show instantaneous profits, or valuable govt subsidies to minimise risk in the long term.
I hate the government only marginaly less than big business when they are so transparent.