Members of the Doncaster Rail Advocacy Steering Committee are taking their advocacy campaign for rail to Doncaster to the steps of Victorian Parliament in a bid to highlight 134 years of broken promises.

Doncaster Rail Advocacy Steering Committee Member James Adams said that as community demand for public transport continues to grow, there is an ever increasing pressure on both the road network and bus system and the City of Manningham remains the only municipality in Melbourne without either train or tram services.

“The provision of rail between Doncaster and the inner city would provide a quick, efficient and very viable alternative mode of public transport that would remove thousands of cars from the Eastern Freeway and local roads during the morning and afternoon peaks, and relieve pressure on the bus network that competes for road space with private commuter vehicles.”

“The Doncaster Rail project has been ignored by successive governments. Manningham residents still rely on buses as the sole form of public transport and there is a heavy dependence on private vehicles.”

“The time is right for both sides of Parliament to acknowledge the need for rail to Doncaster and fast track its delivery. We are calling for bipartisan support for the project to be delivered within the next fifteen years.”

“Parliament won’t come to us, so we decided to bring the Doncaster Rail issue directly to them and we are presenting a petition signed by more than 4,000* residents who want change and believe it is time to deliver a rail line to Doncaster. Now is the time for the community’s voice to be heard,” Mr Adams said.

WHERE:        Front steps of Parliament House

                        Spring St, Melbourne

WHEN:          12 noon, Wednesday 15 October, 2014

*Note to editors:

3418 signatures on the hard copy petition

817 online petition signatures at change.org as at 9.00 am on 14/10/14