MANDURAH MLA David Templeman has blasted a decision to close the Mandurah-Rockingham train line for up to five weekends over the Christmas holidays.
The closure will “facilitate construction activity on the Mandurah Entrance Road” according to project coordinators from Southern Gateway Alliance (SGA).
Services between Mandurah and Rockingham will be cancelled from about 7.30pm Friday until the last service on Sunday for the weekends January 15-January 17, January 22-January 24, January 29-January 31 and February 5-February 7.
There is also the chance the weekend disruptions will be extended to the February 12-14 weekend.
Rail replacement buses will run during the closures but Mr Templeman said this was not good enough and further public comment should have been sought before such a drastic measure was put in place.
“I am extremely concerned about the closure,” Mr Templeman said.
“I find it incredible that our train to Mandurah will not be operating from Friday night to Sunday night during our peak tourism season.
“I am also concerned there has been a lack of consultation with local business operators, state government members and the public.”
Mr Templeman said he had written an “urgent” letter to Transport Minister Simon O’Brien asking questions about the lack of community consultation on the issue.
He is also demanding to know what measures would be put in place to ensure there was no impact on Mandurah’s summer tourist trade.
Mr Templeman’s concern was echoed by Peel Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Sean Wrigley who said greater consultation could have limited the impact on local businesses and the tourism industry.
“The train line has been a terrific acquisition for the region with many travellers utilising this as a convenient travel option,” Mr Wrigley said.
“Although the construction of the Mandurah Entrance Road is an important development for the region, there needed to be greater consultation with the business community to limit the impact of the rail line shutdown.”
Peel Tourism Association president Terry Collier said while the new road was “important”, the association “would have appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the planning for the train line shutdown”.
Mr Collier said the local tourism organisation could have provided SGA with “direct market intelligence” on how the impact of the line disruptions to stakeholders could have been limited.
A recent SGA newletter warning passengers of the imminent closures said people should allow extra travelling time and be aware that “rail replacement buses may not connect with timetabled bus and train services”.
“The Alliance recognises these works may cause some inconvenience to local residents and rail users and apologises for any disturbance,” the newsletter said.
And while the SGA conceded it was “not possible” to eliminate noise and other disturbances resulting from the roadworks the company would “endeavour to minimise the impact and complete the work as soon as possible”.
David Hynes from the Public Transport Authority said he was happy the replacement buses would be “adequate” but the situation would be monitored and more buses would be put on if required.
For more information on the rail shutdown program contact the Transperth InfoLine on 13 62 13.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter