Suburban Rail Loop East (SRL East), with construction starting from 2022, will connect our growing health, education, retail and employment precincts in Melbourne’s east and south east between Cheltenham and Box Hill.

It will include:

• Twin 26km rail tunnels.
• Four new underground stations with connections to existing stations at Cheltenham, Clayton, Glen Waverley and Box Hill.
• Two new stations at Monash and Burwood.
• A train stabling facility at Heatherton.
• Supporting infrastructure for the safe operation of the new tunnels and stations.
• A dedicated fleet of high-tech trains to transform how Melbourne moves.

Engagement program

To support the successful planning, development and delivery of Suburban Rail Loop, a diverse range of stakeholders including residents, businesses, community and interest groups, local government, institutions, utility providers, government departments, commercial landholders and developers are being engaged with.

The engagement program by Suburban Rail Loop Authority includes several engagement phases, each with a different focus.

Raising awareness about Suburban Rail Loop

This initial phase of engagement focussed on raising general awareness about Suburban Rail Loop, including providing information to people about the project’s significant economic and social benefits and gaining an understanding of people’s initial thoughts and what they would like to hear more about.

This report provides a summary of key findings and feedback received from community and stakeholders as part of Phase One engagement from mid-2019 to late-2019. Activities commencing in Phase One continue across multiple phases and have been summarised to provide an overview of key themes and feedback.

Overview of engagement activities and participation

Have Your Say community survey

An online ‘Have your say’ survey was undertaken from June 2019 to June 2020 via the Suburban Rail Loop website. The survey was designed to gather general feedback from people about the project and understand how they would like to be engaged.

This community survey generated strong interest, receiving a total of 4,429 responses.

Social research

Social research was also undertaken by an external market research company in late 2019 to understand community awareness and attitudes towards the project in general.

Research canvassed the views of 3,097 people living in the south east (Cheltenham to Box Hill), north east (Doncaster to Broadmeadows), broader metropolitan Melbourne, and towns along the regional rail corridors including Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Gippsland and the North East line.

This included intercept and online surveys, as well as a survey targeted at people who speak a language other than English.

Pop up information sessions

From July to August 2019 the project team interacted with more than 7,000 community members during eight pop-up information sessions held at train stations, shopping centres, and other locations and events across SRL East communities.

What we heard

This phase of engagement showed strong interest in the project. Stakeholders and community members provided valuable feedback on their initial perceptions and identified elements of the program that are of interest, as well as how they want to be engaged.

Key areas of interest from the community included route and station locations, connections and access, project timelines and staging, cost and benefit realisation, environment and impacts, and community input and engagement.

Some of the key benefits identified by community and stakeholders included less congestion and traffic, easier and faster travel, more job opportunities and easier access to shopping, dining and leisure.

Knowledge and awareness

Have your say community survey

• Around 55% had some awareness of project.
• Just under 75% believe their local community would benefit from Suburban Rail Loop

Social research

• Around 60% had some awareness of project.
• More than 75% believe their local community would benefit from Suburban Rail Loop

Community survey fast facts

We heard from a range of age groups:

• <18 years old 3%
• 18-34 years old 39%
• 35-49 years old 35%
• 50-65 years old 18%
• >66 years old 5%

Most people want to hear more about Suburban Rail Loop with the top five preferred methods being:

• Email updates 63%
• Social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) 52%
• Signage on public transport or in public places 32%
• Internet search 29%
• Community information sessions 18%

Note: Some survey questions allowed people to choose more than one answer, so the percentage values relate to the responses received.

Benefits and concerns

Have your say community survey

Key benefits

• Easier and more convenient travel
• Improved access to jobs, education and services
• Less congestion on roads

Key concerns

• Construction timeline
• When it will be delivered
• Suburban Rail Loop funding

Social research

Key benefits

• Less congestion and traffic
• Easier travel and commutes
• Faster travel times

Key concerns

• Impacts and transport disruption
• Timeframes/timeliness and delays
• Suburban Rail Loop funding

Social research fast facts

We heard from diverse communities with 1,503 responses:

• Mandarin 24%
• Sinhalese 18%
• Greek 16%
• Cantonese 10%
• English 32%

Note: Even though the survey was targeted to people who prefer to speak another language, 486 of these surveys were completed in English.

People told us the top five values that make somewhere a good place to live:

• Feeling safe Reliable and efficient public transport.
• Affordable decent housing.
• Access to the natural environment.
• Ease of access to work, education and healthcare.

What people want from Suburban Rail Loop

During Phase One engagement, we asked communities to tell us what they would like to see Suburban Rail Loop deliver. This is a snapshot of what we heard in people’s own words:

• ‘Less congestion on roads, easier train travel between outer suburbs, less crowding on existing rail links and alternatives to road travel’
  – social research participant
• ‘Make the rail system more user-friendly for those who travel between suburbs, like between Doncaster, Box Hill and Glen Waverley’
  – community survey respondent
• ‘Opportunities for improved active transport connections to stations and facilities at stations as well as on trains’
  – community survey respondent
• ‘A better café culture in my local neighbourhood. Improved night life and places for young people to meet and socialise’
  – social research participant
• ‘Allow people to gain access to sports and entertainment that isn’t necessarily within inner Melbourne and open up other areas’
  – community survey respondent

What people asked us about

During Phase One, Suburban Rail Loop Authority heard from thousands of people about their early thoughts and questions. These have been summarised into key themes.

How feedback is helping shape Suburban Rail Loop

The community has an important part to play in the development and delivery of Suburban Rail Loop and it is our priority to consult widely, ensuring Victorians are kept updated and can have their say.

Feedback from this phase has been used to make sure early work on Suburban Rail Loop considers the outcomes stakeholders and community want to see achieved. The objectives of Suburban Rail Loop are to enhance Connectivity, Liveability and Productivity.

Productivity

Support population growth and a focus on jobs and investment closer to where people live; strengthen access to and investment in regional Victoria.

Connectivity

Support the development of an integrated transport network that increases travel options and access to places, and enhances the passenger experience

Liveability

Create more sustainable and resilient precincts in Melbourne’s suburbs to generate new social and economic opportunities and to make people’s lives better.

There will be many more opportunities for people to get involved and have their say about Suburban Rail Loop. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed feedback to date.