MELBOURNE'S 50 worst level-crossings will be gone within eight years if Labor wins next year's state election, the party says.
And it will pay the bill by a $6 billion sale of the Port of Melbourne.
Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews will today release his long-awaited alternative to the East West Link.
He will pledge to remove 5000 trucks a day from the West Gate Bridge, by diverting them on to new tolled on-and-off ramps connecting to the Port of Melbourne.
Labor is promising to fix Melbourne’s level-crossing problem if elected. Source: HeraldSun
In its attempt to win voters fed up with traffic chaos, Labor will also promise:
THOUSANDS of new and upgraded free parking spots at train stations.
EXTRA lanes on the West Gate Freeway between Williamstown Road and the Western Ring Road.
WIDENING of the Tullamarine Freeway to six lanes.
STREAMLINING of Hoddle Street, using new traffic flow technology from America.
$300 MILLION in its first budget on planning and early works on the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel.
Labor will also pledge to spend $250m a year for eight years on repairing and upgrading outer suburban and regional roads, as a part of a plan it claims will create 10,000 jobs.
Mr Andrews said he had listened to thousands of Victorians over the past three years and received a very clear message.
"Victorians are sick of the chaos and congestion at our level crossings, and putting up with overcrowded and late trains and crumbling suburban and country roads," he said.
"Over the past decade there have been almost 200 level crossing crashes, including many deaths. This has to stop."
40 level-crossings will be removed under Labor’s policy Source: HeraldSun
Labor's policy includes a list of 40 crossings to be removed, including all on the RACV's priority list. Ten other crossings to be removed would be announced later.
The bid to remove the dangerous crossings has been welcomed by St Albans mother whose son was killed at a notorious level crossing.
Dianne Dejanovic's son, Christian, was killed at the Main Road, St Albans, crossing in January 2012 and she has campaigned to fix the crossing ever since.
"Those that are the most dangerous should be removed first," she said.
Labor's bid to woo voters at the next election comes almost four months after it announced it was opposed to East West Link Stage One, between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink.
It says its transport plans will go ahead if it wins the next election whether or not the contracts for the $6 billion-$8 billion tunnel have already been signed.
Dianne Dejanovic’s son Christian was struck and killed by a train at the St Albans level-crossing in 2012. Source: HeraldSun
Labor believes the Port of Melbourne is worth between $5 billion and $6 billion if it is privatised, which it says would cover the estimated cost of removing 50 of Melbourne's most congested and dangerous level crossings.
It argues that Melbourne's 180 level-crossings are the main barrier to Melbourne's being a world-class train system.
Removing them would mean trains would be able to run every 10 minutes, eliminating the need for timetables.
Labor would immediately allocate $20 million to tarmac and resurface parking spots at the train stations.
It also pledged that the bulk of any money raised from surplus land sales, when grade separations are carried out, would go towards expanding the number of free parking spots at train stations.
And Labor says spending $60 million on a pilot study to import "continuous flow technology" from the United States could substantially increase traffic flow and reduce delays on Hoddle St.
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