Reservoir's level crossing removal set to get underway
One of the more complex level crossing removal sites is set to get underway with the State Government announcing the Mernda railway line and new Reservoir station will be elevated above the intersection of High Street, Broadway, Spring Street, Cheddar Road and Edwardes Street.
Reference drawings published on the Level Crossing Removal Authority's website depict elevated platforms that sit further north compared to the existing at-grade platforms.
One such render also emphasises the new pedestrian links that will be created by elevating the station, connecting Edwardes Street and Broadway through two pedestrian crossings and the station forecourt underneath the new platforms.
According to the State Government, 'on average, 36,000 vehicles travel through the Reservoir level crossing each day with the boom gates down for 24 minutes during the morning peak. In the past decade there were three recorded collisions and one fatality plus 26 near miss incidents at this site.'
Work has begun with site establishment, geotechnical work and the relocation of services kicking off in earnest. The level crossing removal is expected to be complete by 2020.
Comment
Reservoir is one of the locations mooted to include an interchange with the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) - the election proposal by the Andrews Government to build an underground rail line from Cheltenham to the Airport and a mixture of surface and underground track between Melbourne Airport and Werribee.
Should the Andrews Government be re-elected, they have promised to invest in a business case for the SRL which will likely include a reference design for each of the proposed stations.
It's a safe bet the reference design for Reservoir will likely take further connections to an underground set of platforms into account - despite transferring passengers having to traverse at least 4 'levels' to move between platforms (Mernda Line platforms, surface/station entrance level, underground mezzanine, SRL platforms).
Reservoir and Heidelberg stations would be the two interchange stations likely to see the most transferring passengers headed to the SRL's mooted station at La Trobe University and it will be interesting to see if there are any changes to the design of Reservoir should the Andrews Government be re-elected and pursue the SRL project.
