From: "Brian May" <brian@microcomaustralia.com.au>
Questions have been raised about how the Airport Rail Link can reach the airport in 25 minutes, when it is sharing the line with the Sunbury trains, and it currently takes 20 minutes to reach Sunshine.
I cannot find the reference online but it is in today's The Age: It is using the Regional Rail Link. What a genius: One government wants to separate V/Line and Metropolitan lines, the next one sells it as a quick fix for an Airport Link. The people from Ballarat and Bendigo and the stops closer will thank Naphtine for this.. Well, we have a Bendigo "fast train" going 160km/h but a single track line for the last stops - so the train have to wait for each other. (Experienced a fortnight ago)
Previously they had long term plans that extend well into the future,while the ordering was controversial, at least they were planning how the changes when interact with future changes. They don't appear to have any of that future planning with these changes.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rail-tunnel-plan-based-on-common-sense-201... "The State Government prepared no thorough business case before committing to a revamped route for Melbourne's city rail tunnel, instead relying on "common sense". Planning Minister Matthew Guy made that startling admission on Thursday under questioning about why the government had dumped plans for a rail tunnel linking Parkville with South Yarra in favour of one that creates a new train station at Montague, near South Melbourne. The government says the new station will service the planned new mega suburb at Fisherman's Bend, despite being kilometres away from that location. Regards Peter