UN 116: The bus network the Metro Tunnel needs (Part 2 - east)

Last week I presented a reformed bus network for suburban Metro Tunnel stations between Watergardens and Footscray. This would make buses more direct, more frequent and more useful over a large part of Melbourne’s west. Its design supports not only Metro Tunnel services but also fast developing precincts near Footscray, Sunshine and Highpoint and future rail corridors such as to Melbourne Airport and Metro 2. 

The concept of a reformed bus network was proposed in Infrastructure Victoria's 30 year strategy and accepted by the State Government through its recently released Victorian Infrastructure Plan. The new network would commence in 2025 to coincide with the planned commencement of Metro Tunnel train services.

Here's an even larger 2025 reformed network for the Metro Tunnel's eastern side, covering stations between Caulfield and Dandenong. It would achieve the following:

* Feed Metro Tunnel trains and relieve parking pressure at the line's busiest 9 stations

* Boost access to the Monash National Employment and Innovation Cluster & thousands of jobs

* Deliver the Caulfield to Rowville transit corridor as a premium bus

* Bring forward some Suburban Rail Loop benefits by ten years through 'SRL SmartBus'

* Transform local buses in the cities of Greater Dandenong, Monash and parts of Knox, Glen Eira, Kingston, Boroondara and Whitehorse, fixing a 30 year backlog in network reform

Of similar scale to bus reform in Sydney, it introduces 10 'new generation' bus routes operating every 10 minutes. As well a simplified 'key route network' lifts most others to every 20 minutes. That compares to widespread 40 to 60 minute frequencies currently despite higher than average usage of buses in the area. 

The south-east has larger employment and education clusters than the west and hasn't had substantial bus reform for years. Hence today's item has more in it than last week's. To keep it understandable I'll discuss the main 10 minute network first. Then, if you are up for it, the more detailed 20 minute network is described next.     

Ten routes every ten minutes 

Below is a a concept 2025 Metro Tunnel supporting bus network for Melbourne's south-east. Routes shown would operate every 10 minutes or better seven days per week. Some are potential 'Bus Rapid Transit' or other medium capacity corridors. Detailed descriptions and links after the map. 

To recap the main points about the map from last week:

The big diagonal line is the Cranbourne / Pakenham line whose trains will come from the Sunbury line via the Metro Tunnel. Only stations between Caulfield and Dandenong are shown. Dots are key interchange points or destinations. Dark blue is Metro stations, red universities and TAFEs, green shopping centres and pink hospitals. Many are potential interchange points.

Most routes featured already operate today. Only frequency changes are proposed for 703, 901, 902 and 903. Minor modifications (including extensions) are proposed for 630 and 693 with larger changes for 733 and 900. 620 and 810 are new routes. They would replace existing complex and less frequent routes on their corridors and provide new linkages between major destinations. Interactions with other routes are discussed in detail later.  

The listed routes below form the above-mapped ten minute network.  

620 Caulfield - La Trobe University Bundoora (NEW): A new frequent route linking the Metro Tunnel, half of Melbourne's train lines, many trams and passing near three university campuses. Would replace part of the half-hourly 624 and 548 routes and fill a major network gap. Discussed in detail here and as a similar concept here.

630 Elsternwick - Monash Clayton: A popular existing route. Currently runs every 12 minutes in the peak. An upgrade to 10 minutes all day would not require many new buses and would evenly mesh with train frequencies. A service boost would also compensate for rerouting the 900 away from Huntingdale. 630's high Sunday productivity is notable and justifies a service boost. Extending to Elsternwick would provide a stronger terminus. 

693 Chadstone - Ferntree Gully: An important connection to the Monash NEIC. Currently runs every 20 minutes in peak, 30 min interpeak. Large parts overlapped by 742 and, further east, 753. Relatively poor usage at Belgrave end which is better served by local routes going to more places. Frequency upgrade would be in conjunction with an extension to Chadstone, shortening to Ferntree Gully and network simplification to reduce overlaps. The 10 minute frequency may appear generous (particularly on weekends) but it compensates Oakleigh for the loss of the 900 and would provide an excellent feeder for the future SRL station at Monash. More here.  

703 Brighton - Blackburn: No changes proposed to route. Current timetable has uneven timings and limited operating hours. Frequency and operating hours upgrade to make it a real SmartBus (and better) connecting major jobs in the Monash precinct and feed Clayton Superhub.  

733 Box Hill - Sandringham (SRL SmartBus): A very popular route currently only every 30 to 60 minutes most times. Despite serving major destinations including Box Hill, Mt Waverley and Monash Clayton. Less well used at its Oakleigh end where it is close to 903 and overlaps part of 703. A reformed network could have this route head south rather than west from Clayton to terminate at Sandringham or at least Southland. This would give it a route nearest to that of the proposed Suburban Rail Loop. Hence it is considered suitable as a 'next generation' SRL SmartBus service that would help establish usage patterns and development early. More about the 733 here.   SRL SmartBus discussed here and here.

810 Monash Clayton - Dandenong (NEW): Although areas like Springvale are not far from the Monash precinct and have high bus usage, they don't currently have easy bus access to it. Also the busiest part of the 902 SmartBus is on that part of Springvale Rd near Springvale Station. This is a low income area and many people use the bus for short distance shopping and feeder trips. These two factors are the rationale behind this new frequent route. Other areas to benefit include Noble Park, Dandenong and the hospital and TAFE there. Heatherton Rd currently has a bus (811) but the hourly frequency does not match the area's demographics nor patronage potential. As part of this change to lessen overlap the 811 would terminate at Springvale. An earlier version of this concept (without the Monash connection) is presented here.

900 Caulfield - Stud Park: This corridor has had a lot of discussion due to various light rail and 'trackless tram' promises and concepts. The 900 is a very popular route (especially weekends) but is not the fastest between Chadstone and Monash University due to its deviation via Oakleigh and Huntingdale. The mapped route has it going straight via Princes Hwy. Other routes such as the 903 and 693 are boosted or extended to retain Chadstone - Oakleigh capacity, particularly on weekends. Current peak frequency is every 10 minutes making an upgrade to every 10 minutes all day / all week possible without buying more buses. This makes it the cheapest and quickest of the ten 'new generation' bus services discussed here to implement. 

901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport: One of the three SmartBus orbitals, this currently runs every 15 minutes on weekdays and 30 minutes evenings and weekends. Parts of this route (in the north-east) are so poorly used that it shouldn't really be a SmartBus while other sections deserve more service. The part of the 901 between Frankston and Ringwood is one of the latter. Longer term the orbitals should be split so that service can be better matched to catchment needs including 10 minute frequencies. The simplest upgrade without splitting could be to introduce a maximum daytime wait of 15 minutes (rather than the current 30 minutes on weekends) by operating short trips between (say) Frankston and Ringwood. These would be slotted in between the existing trips to provide a combined 15 minute frequency on all seven days. 

902 Chelsea - Airport West: Similar comments apply as for the 901. Again there is a high need for a more intensive service between Nunawading and about Springvale South. Again ideally 10 minutes but 15 minutes would be a major advance on the current 30 minute weekend service. Other network reforms including the 810 and 814 north of Springvale and the 813 to the south (some discussed later) will augment the 902 on the busy portion around Springvale Station. 

903 Mordialloc - Sunshine: The busiest of the three SmartBus orbitals with the Oakleigh - Chadstone - Box Hill portion contributing high patronage. The portion between Mentone and Doncaster is recommended for ten minute service. It's well away from this area but there are good reasons to split this route at Heidelberg and extend the eastern portion to La Trobe University. This has interactions with other network reforms. As with the other two orbitals scope exists to run short trips to run a consistent 15 minute service. This, along with the 693 extension and upgrade is particularly important with the 900 rerouting away from Oakleigh. 

Staging and priorities

There is no reason why these 'next generation' routes cannot be rolled out in a staged fashion, similar to the SmartBus orbitals about 10 years ago. Some are more complex or resource intensive than others.

My top priorities in terms of ease, low cost and patronage potential would be the 900, 630 and 733 (Box Hill to Clayton only). Also important could be short trips on the three SmartBus orbitals to provide 15 minute weekend daytime service on their busiest portions.

Most transformative from a network point of view are the new 620 and the southern extension of the 733 to create an 'SRL SmartBus'.  The new 810 could be nicknamed the 'Opportunity Line' given its catchment demographics. That should also receive early consideration, even if initially at a 15 or 20 minute frequency rather than 10 minutes. 

Last to happen might be upgrading weekday SmartBus orbital services from 15 to 10 minutes. This is because sections of these very long routes don't justify their current 15 minute service let alone 10 minutes. Weekday orbital upgrades could occur at the same time they are split to better match service with train frequencies and need. Reform here would have implications well beyond the east, including areas such as Altona, Airport West and Melbourne Airport.  

Is having ten frequent routes too much? Currently we have one (if you count the weekday only 601 Monash shuttle). Sydney's reformed eastern suburb and inner west network has eleven. Further from the CBD Sydney's northwest has four (600, 601, 611, 665) plus Sydney Metro through the middle of the business park (a precinct like Monash) and a bus transitway to the west.

Overall I'd say the network above was generous but not over the top given expectations for the Monash precinct and the lack of rail serving its heart. Also two of the routes precede proposed light or heavy rail corridors (eg Rowville and SRL) while the rest serve major employment areas and activity clusters. As well there is a degree of offsetting savings with some shortened or simplified routes to reduce overlaps.

There is no reason why service upgrades couldn't be staged with the new routes put in earlier but at 15 or 20 minute frequencies. This is particularly the case for 'business heavy' areas (eg the Monash precinct) whose routes might go to every 10 min on weekdays (especially in peak periods) but remain at every 20 minutes on weekends until more mixed-use development occurs and/or the SRL commences. 

Frequent network summary

Presented above is a network that would greatly improve access to stations feeding the Metro Tunnel and eventually Melbourne Airport. The frequencies are of a level rare in Melbourne but common in parts of Sydney. They would permit easy turn-up-and-go access to and within the Monash precinct - Melbourne's largest suburban employment cluster. They will require substantial new bus purchases if you want high frequency. However if you are willing to tolerate more waiting then the above network could still form the basis of some worthwhile reform even at lower frequencies like 15 - 20 minutes whose implementation would be much cheaper.

You can stop reading now. But if you want it there's more detail below for the 15 and 20 minute routes that fill the above's gaps and greatly improve more local connections. 

More routes - the eastern key route network

Here's a more 'filled in' network. The map shows not just the 'new generation' 10 minute services but also those upgraded to run every 15 or 20 minutes as well. It represents a large scaling up of service and would bring the most people within 10 minutes walk of a 7 day bus operating every 20 minutes or better. This is a big step up from 30 to 60 minute services in the historically underserved areas between Springvale and Stud Roads despite favourable demographics for all day bus usage.  

Despite all the lines the new network is simpler than today's (which you can see on local area maps like Greater Dandenong's). It is however larger than the western area network discussed last week. Fortunately reform can be staged, done in clusters of related routes. This is necessary because changes to one route may leave a gap unless another is adjusted to compensate. 

Routes will be discussed in related clusters rather than numerical order. All routes with bold headings will be key routes operating every 20 min or better. Other routes mentioned are lower frequency neighbourhood type services. Groups are roughly arranged simplest first. Special effort is made to highlight opportunities for simpler and cheaper reforms that could bring forward some benefits of this revised network. 

Group A

800 Chadstone - Dandenong: No change to route. Upgraded to operate every 20 min 7 days with longer operating hours. Can be done with existing bus fleet as a stand-alone change affecting no other routes. Hence early upgrade, before the Metro Tunnel opens, should be possible. More on 800 opportunities here and here.

Group B

803/804 Chadstone - Dandenong: A reformed two route corridor that is simpler than the current 802/804/862 corridor. The corridor would run every 15 min peak and 15 or 20 min off-peak with each route operating at half this. The new route 803 would be an amalgamation of 802 and 862 while 804 would be similar to now. More details here. 

Notes: This would provide an Oakleigh - Monash connection, something which becomes more important when the 900 is realigned to skip Oakleigh. Both routes would run 7 days which wold make the corridor more legible compared to now where one route runs 7 days, one route 6 days and the other 5 days. Like the 800 upgrade this is low cost involving no more buses than now. Again there should be no large interactions with other routes and an early pre-Metro Tunnel upgrade is recommended.

Group C

623 Glen Waverley - St Kilda: Upgraded from every 30 - 60 min to operate every 15 min peak/20 min off-peak. Rerouted via Caulfield Station. Partly funded by deleting Route 624 between Chadstone and Caulfield with Neerim Rd Murrumbeena served by rerouted 623. 

734 Glen Waverley - Caulfield: Extended to Caulfield to provide new Metro Tunnel connection. Upgraded from every 30 min to every 15 min peak, 20 min off-peak. Burke Rd portion replaces deleted 624 in area.   

Notes: 624 remains as local route via existing Oakleigh - Chadstone alignment. Chadstone - Kew portion replaced by parts of 623, extended 734 and new 620 as above. 623 would continue to deviate via Mt Waverley with an option to remove this confusing backtracking when Route 733 is upgraded. Early reform on this group can commence before the new 620 starts by buying the one or two buses necessary to extend the 734 to Caulfield and routing all 624 trips via the main (Carnegie) deviation, thus at least providing a single path for this currently very complex alternating route.  More on the 734 extension and related Caulfield station upgrades here.

Group D

822 Chadstone - Cheltenham: Upgraded from every 30 - 60 min to operate every 15 min peak/20 min off-peak. Straightened to operate via Murrumbeena, East Boundary and Chesterville Rd to provide direct north-south route serving densifying Bentleigh East precinct and more jobs at Moorabbin. Shortened with alternative arrangements in the Cheltenham/Sandringham area. Done in concert with Bentleigh East area reforms to 627, 701 and 767 to retain local coverage. More detail here. 

828 Berwick - Southland: Upgraded from every 20 - 60 min to every 15 min peak/20 min off-peak. Southland- Highett - Hampton portion served by local route (which could be an extension of another route that finishes at Southland eg 631).

Notes: Can be done stand-alone with abovementioned routes or in conjunction with 733 extension which provides Bay Rd Southland - Sandringham connection to replace current lower frequency 822. A cheaper alternative that does not need to wait for the (relatively expensive) 733 extension could be to operate 828 directly from Southland to Sandringham via Bay Rd to provide a smaller but still very worthwhile frequency increase (30 to 15-20 rather than 10 minutes). When the time comes to introduce it, note that the 733 extension will have some minor interdependencies with 631 and 824 and a replacement route in Oakleigh South, as discussed here.  

Group E 

737 Westall - Croydon: Upgraded from every 30 - 40 min to every 15 min off-peak (20 min weekend) at least between Monash University and Knox City. These could be early upgrades with short trips added between existing trips. Later the 737 could be slightly extended to start at Westall Station to replace deleted 631 in area and connect the dense M City development to its nearest train. At the same time the 703 is upgraded the 737 could be rerouted via Ferntree Gully Rd and Springvale Rd to be similar alignment to current 742 until Glen Waverley. Timed to connect with most trains at Glen Waverley. 

Notes: Interactions with 693, 703 and 742. With 693 upgrade and Chadstone extension, Route 742 is no longer needed between Chadstone and Monash University. Instead it could start at Monash University (north side) and operate to Glen Waverley via Blackburn Rd, paralleling the upgraded 703. That's a swap with the 737. However it was considered preferable to have the more frequent 737 on Springvale Rd to relieve the heavily used 902 for local trips to/from Glen Waverley. 

Group F

691/692 Glen Waverley - Ferntree Gully: A new fast (and limited stop) connection to Rowville from the Glen Waverley Line. More detail here. Would comprise a pair of routes, splitting east of Stud Park. The pair could run every 10 min peak, 15 min interpeak and 20 min weekends to match trains at Glen Waverley. Each half would be half that frequency. 692 is a new route while 691 would be modified. 

Notes: Would be done in conjunction with reforms to 681 and 682 while replacing 754 in the area (which could run to Waverley Gardens instead). Rowville FlexiRide would also be reviewed including a potential replacement with fixed routes. This upgrade for faster CBD access is desirable in conjunction with the rerouted 900 since it will no longer run via Huntingdale Station. 

Group G

705 Mordialloc - Monash University: Rerouted to provide a fast Monash University link from the Mordialloc area. It would also serve jobs in the Braeside areas with a connection from Clayton. Every 20 minutes on weekdays but less service on weekends (hence dotted line). This is the closest public transport equivalent to the new Mordialloc Freeway which currently has no comparable inland transit route. The Springvale end of the 705 could be replaced by an extended/rerouted 704 to better link local destinations. Of all the key routes here the 705 would be the last to implement as a 20 minute service as others have higher all day patronage potential. More on the 705 concept here.   

817 Monash University - Keysborough (NEW): New route via Westall Station, Westall Rd, Kingsclere Av. Every 20 min weekdays, lower frequency weekend. Replaces 824 between Westall and Keysborough while providing new Monash connection. 

824 Middle Brighton - Waverley Gardens: extended to replace 811/812 at Brighton end and rerouted to remain on Centre Rd to terminate at Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre, replacing 631 in area. This provides a direct Clayton connection and takes advantage of level crossing removal. Clayton - Westall portion of existing 824 served by local 704 rerouted south of line and extended to Springvale (also replacing 705 in area). More on this concept (and the abovementioned 817) here.

Notes: Route 631 shortened to become a Southland - Clayton local route as Waverley Gardens gets extended 824 from Clayton instead.

 Group H

813 Dandenong - Springvale: Runs along the existing route alignment south of the railway but shortened to terminate at Springvale with northern portion operated by modified 814. Frequency would increase from 40 to 20 minutes due to its strong catchment and high patronage. This boost would also relieve some pressure on the 902 on Springvale Rd for some local trips. The higher frequency would mean that 812 would no need to operate closely parallel to the 813 between Keysborough and Dandenong so can be terminated at Parkmore. More here and here.

814 Springvale - Dandenong: Rerouted to start at Springvale with Springvale South portion operated as rerouted 811. Runs via Wanda, Albany and Hansworth to replace 813 and 848 in area. Then to Dandenong via existing route. Upgraded to run 7 days with service boosted from 60 to 20 min. 

815 Waverley Gardens - Keysborough South (NEW): New direct Noble Park - Keysborough South route via Corrigan Rd and Chapel Rd. Southbound buses would form inbound Route 816 services, enabling access to Parkmore SC. Corrigan Rd service enables 812 to be straightened, operating direct to Parkmore. 

816 Waverley Gardens - Keysborough South: Extended north to Waverley Gardens to replace 848 on Bakers Rd then Chandler Rd to provide a new connection to Noble Park. Then straightened in south with arriving services forming inbound 815 services.  Some 815 and 816 concepts here (though note the route numbers are swapped).

850 Dandenong - Glen Waverley: Upgraded to every 20 min. Route straightened in various places including running via Lum Rd. Brandon Park Dr served by local route 848 extended north to Glen Waverley and routed south via Wanda St to Springvale (to replace 885). 

Notes: Reforms to 811/812. 811 takes in Springvale South portion of 814 and terminates at Springvale due to more frequent 810 in its place to Dandenong. More frequent 813 allow 812 terminates at Parkmore Keysborough with improved straightness due to new 815 serving its Corrigan Rd stops. Option exists to extend 812 to Dandenong via Dandenong South industrial area. 811/812 would be shortened to start at Moorabbin if 824 starts at Middle Brighton. 

Routes 848 and 885 amalgamated to form new route 848 from Springvale to Glen Waverley in conjunction with reforms to 850. 

Scope may exist for early reform involving just 813, 814, 811 and 812 with the 810, 815, 816, 848, 850 and 885 reforms to come later. On the other hand all routes are run by the same operator and in a similar area so the possibility for scheduling efficiencies by doing them together should not be ignored.  

Group I

At the edge of the map are routes east of Dandenong. They include routes to Endeavour Hills and a new Dandenong  route to Fountain Gate that would connect jobs at Dandenong South to residential areas such as Hampton Park. They won't be discussed further here as they are better considered as part of reforms in eastern areas like Hampton Park, Casey and Endeavour Hills.  

Deleted, added and modified routes

A major thrust is simpler, more direct and more frequent routes to more places. Hence some are joined so more people can take one-seat rides to key destinations. In other cases routes are split with the busy portion being a separate route with a more frequent service. Some local routes get extended to stronger termini.  Overall three route numbers are taken out of use while four new ones are created. Lists below:

Deleted routes 

802: replaced by new 803

862: replaced by new 803

885: replaced by rerouted 814 and 848 

Added routes

620: New Caulfield - La Trobe University route. Replaces portions of 624 and 548.
692: New Glen Waverley - Ferntree Gully route to provide frequent service wtih 691.

810: New Monash - Dandenong route. Replaces portion of 811 on Heatherton Rd.

815: New Noble Park - Keysborough route. New direct Corrigan Rd route.  

817: New Monash - Keysborough route. Replaces portion of 631 and 824.

Significantly modified routes

623: Rerouted via Caulfield Station and Murrumbeena station to replace 624 in area. Mt Waverley backtracking may be removed but only after 733 is upgraded. 

624: Made shorter Oakleigh - Chadstone route with other parts replaced by modified 623 and new 620.

627: Potentially reforms in conjunction with 822 upgrade and straightening. 

630: Extended to Elsternwick. 

631: Shortened to operate Southland - Clayton only. Monash connection provided by extended 733.

691: Rerouted to start at Glen Waverley in conjunction with new 692 to provide train feeder for Stud Park. 

693: Extended to Chadstone in west but shortened to Ferntree Gully in east. Other routes extended from Belgrave to cover this section.
701: Potentially reforms in conjunction with 822 upgrade and straightening. 

704: Extended to Springvale to replace 705 in area.   

705: Extended to Monash University Clayton. 

733: Extended to Southland or Sandringham to provide 'SRL SmartBus' service. Oakleigh portion served by another route. 

734: Extended to Caulfield to replace deleted 624 portion.  

737: Extended south to Westall Station. Rerouted to provide more capacity on Springvale Rd south of Glen Waverley. 

742: Shortened to operate from Monash University to Ringwood only. 693 extended and upgraded to compensate in overlap area. Swapped with 737 to operate via Blackburn Rd. 

754: Rerouted to terminate at Waverley Gardens in conjunction with Rowville changes. 
767: Potential reform in Bentleigh East in conjunction with 822 upgrade and straightening. 

811: Terminated at Springvale. Dandenong portion served by new 810. Shortened to start at Moorabbin in conjunction with 824 extension. 

812: Straightened west of Parkmore. Shortened to terminate at Parkmore due to upgraded 813.  Shortened to start at Moorabbin in conjunction with 824 extension.  

813: Shortened to terminate at Springvale. 814 rerouted in Mulgrave. 

814: Shortened to terminate at Springvale. Modified 811 to cover Springvale South. 

816: Extended north to Waverley Gardens. Straightened in south. 
821: Potential modification in conjuntion with 733 extension. 
822: Operated more directly down East Boundary Rd and Chesterville Rd to Southland. Replaced by other routes to Sandringham. 

824: Extended west to Middle Brighton to replace 811/812. Straightened east to terminate at Waverley Gardens. Keysborough portion served by new 817. 
828: Revisions west of Southland. Southland - Hampton portion served by another route.. May be extended to Sandringham via Bay Rd initially pending 733 extension.  

848: Rerouted to replace 885 in Mulgrave. Extended to Glen Waverley. 

850: Rerouted for improved catchment. 

900: Straightened to operate via Princes Hwy. 

Dandenong - Pakenham/ Dandenong - Cranbourne

Metro Tunnel trains will continue to Pakenham and Cranbourne through the City of Casey. An upgraded and simplified bus network is needed in these areas too. Suggested key upgraded and extended routes include 893 (Dandenong - Clyde incorporating part of 897), 791 (Frankston - Fountain Gate incorporating part of 841) and a new 860 Seaford - Berwick (incorporating part of 760 joined with 888). Detail on all that here. Also see previously for the links under 'Group I' for some other network concepts. 

Conclusion

A vastly upgraded reformed bus network for the eastern part of the Metro Tunnel catchment has been described. It delivers streamlined 7 day routes across a wide area with large benefits for the Monash NEIC, the Caulfield - Rowville corridor and Melbourne's east and south-east more generally. Operating hours are extended and maximum waits for many passengers would be halved. Both those using Metro Tunnel trains and those travelling locally would benefit.

While ambitious by Melbourne standards, its service levels match what recent network reviews have delivered in established parts of Sydney (which are similarly unserved by trams). The ten 10 minute frequent corridors will require a lot of bus purchases. However the 'bones' of the network could be implemented with somewhat lower frequencies but still enhanced all week service and better operating hours with far fewer bus purchases. Even this would make a worthwhile difference. 

Large scale bus upgrades in a wide area, like we last saw with Doncaster's DART ten years ago, can do much 'heavy lifting' in transport, even more so than large rail projects. The number of people served just by this and the western network discussed last week could even potentially exceed the uplift attributable to the Metro Tunnel. But together they would make an unbeatable combination that would transform tranport and create a more conducive transit environment for projects like the Suburban Rail Loop, Caulfield - Rowville corridor and Monash NEIC to take root. 

Do you think it's a good network or could some aspects be done better? Is it too expensive or does it not go far enough? Is it a reasonable comparator for whatever the Department of Transport may develop? Comments are appreciated and can be left below. 

See other Building Melbourne's Useful Network items here

PS: This is Part Two of a three part series. Part One, covering Watergardens to Footscray, is here. Part Three presents details of a CBD area revamp (including tram reform) here.