Rowville rail line challenging

The study by Sinclair Knight Merz – a Coalition Government election commitment – outlined a proposed extension to Rowville including a proposed route, station locations, patronage and engineering solutions.\

Victorian public transport minister Terry Mulder said the report proposes new railway stations at Monash University, Mulgrave, Waverley Park and two options for a station at Rowville, with an altered station layout at Huntingdale.

While Mulder said it was clear there is strong support for a Rowville rail line with direct, regular connection to Melbourne’s CBD and Monash University, the report outlined “a range of work that needed to be undertaken on the existing Dandenong rail corridor and in the central network to provide capacity for any future Rowville services”.

Key findings from the report included:

• Based on the preliminary design concepts, construction of a Rowville rail line is
possible but has significant complications due to the surrounding urban environment
and the lack of historical protection of a route.
• Running Rowville train services direct to the city would require improvements on the
Dandenong line from Huntingdale to Caulfield and add to pressure for rail capacity improvements in central Melbourne as well.