Government to exceed 3,000 car bay promise
The State Government has delivered on its four-year, $50million election commitment to build an additional 3,000 car bays at railway stations along the Joondalup and Mandurah lines.
Transport Minister Troy Buswell said the 3,000-bay milestone was passed with the opening of the new 470-bay car park at Cockburn Central Station and indicated the Government was on track to exceed the original target by up to 50 per cent.
“The Liberal-National Government committed almost $50million to provide 3,000 new car parking bays on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines, the busiest on our rail network, and we have delivered on that promise,” Mr Buswell said.
“The opening of the new area at Cockburn Central takes the total number of new bays to 3,247, at 13 different locations.
“We are now on the way to going above and beyond our original commitment, with the total number of new bays expected to reach 4,516 in the next few months as work is completed at Currambine and Rockingham stations.
“Overall, this will be an increase of almost 45 per cent on the number of car bays available at stations along the Mandurah and Joondalup lines since September 2008.
“On top of this, we committed a further $8.3million to provide about 1,300 additional bays on the Fremantle, Midland and Armadale lines, more than 200 of which have already been delivered, with the remainder expected to be completed in 2013. A further 300 have been built as part of station upgrades.”
The Minister said the Government had also committed to the biggest boost to bus services in more than a decade in the 2011-2012 State Budget.
“As soon as these new car bays are completed I’m sure they will be utilised by the increasing number of people travelling on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines,” Mr Buswell said.
“In recognition of this, we are investing in more buses, greater frequency on existing routes and the establishment of additional routes to give people more options when planning their travel.”
Fact File
- At September 23, 2008 there was a total of 10,473 car bays at stations on the Joondalup and Mandurah lines, compared to a total of 13,920 now (up 33%)
- Details of the 4,516 new car bays at train stations: