Melbourne outer northern suburbs to CBD capacity upgrade
The Northern Growth Corridor covers a region 20 km to 50 km from central Melbourne. This corridor is expected to accommodate significant population and employment growth. By 2031, the corridor is forecast to have around 137,000 residents, an increase of approximately 70% from 2020.
Increasing population and employment growth has put pressure on the existing road and rail network in the corridor. The main road access is the Hume Freeway, and the rail access is via the Seymour Line.
The 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit forecasts that daily vehicle movements on the Hume Freeway would grow from 54,577 in 2016 to 105,682 by 2031.
The Audit analysis shows that both AM and PM peak-period traffic volumes will be at capacity by 2031, causing congestion and significant delays along the corridor.
Rail patronage is forecast to increase from 700 to 9,000 trips per AM peak on a weekday.
This proposal would develop options to address demand for transport and other services in the corridor. A combination of infrastructure, reforms and other proposals may respond to this problem over time.
In response to the population and employment growth in the Northern Growth Corridor, the Victorian and Australian Governments are progressing joint detailed road and rail network planning work through various projects and proposed reform initiatives as outlined in Victoria’s infrastructure strategy 2021-2051.
We encourage the Victorian and Australian Governments to identify and analyse options (Stage 2 of Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework) and make submissions in response to the identified problems in this corridor.
Refer to Infrastructure Glossary for terms and definitions.