While the announcement of a second station for Ballarat is welcomed (assuming it receives an adequate of services), it is interesting that the station is expected by 2008 compared to metropolitan Melbourne which must wait until 2012 for much needed stations at Lynbrook, Cardinia and Point Cook.
As reported in The Age it must be asked why the State Government is continuing to neglect metropolitan public transport users:
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Alex Makin asked how the Government would be able to build a station in Ballarat so quickly when several much needed suburban train stations had been delayed until 2012. “If they can build a new station in 2008, then there is no reason why suburban stations can’t be built.”
A developer contribution was levied for the construction of a station at Lynbrook and yet the community is still kept waiting after another six years due to State Government inaction.
It would appear that the State Government is simply interested in vote buying rather than actually delivering a reliable, frequent and readily available public transport system.