Western regional rail link

[ozbob]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Rail_Link

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From the Melbourne Age click here!

Planning laws to fast-track rail link

Planning laws to fast-track rail link
Clay Lucas
October 13, 2010

POWERFUL new planning laws the Brumby government created last year to reduce opportunities for community objections to big transport projects will be used to quickly gain approval for a $4 billion rail line through Melbourne's west.

The Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act was last year criticised by councils and environment groups because it overrode existing rights to court objections to big projects.

The act gives Planning Minister Justin Madden the power to fast-track transport projects declared ''major'' by Premier John Brumby.

Mr Madden yesterday announced he would use the laws to push through the Regional Rail Link, a new rail line through the west that will separate V/Line trains from Metro services. Mr Madden also ruled out an environment effects statement for the project.

In August, The Age revealed the government was trying to limit the options for residents to have their say about the controversial new rail line, which will destroy 24 homes and 49 businesses in Labor's heartland western suburbs.

Secret documents prepared by law firm Freehills showed the Department of Transport attempting to reduce the prospect of an environmental effects statement into the new rail line.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said yesterday the project should have an environmental effects statement, because of the huge scope of the works. ''A project of this scale should have an EES,'' he said.

[#Metro]

This is always bad news.
Good projects can be rammed through, except that often good projects turn out to be bad projects later and the alarms that would have gone off, don't go off because they were turned off.

It is never ever a good idea to ram a large project without an EIS or consultation. While there may be many NIMBY concerns (seems unlikely as the route appears to run via paddocks) there is also useful info the community can give.