Young families say they fear for the health of their children after the Victorian government steamrolled community opposition by revealing plans for a permanent all-night rail maintenance yard in a popular pocket of Abbotsford.
The industrial facility, which is returning to Victoria Park Station after being shut down last year, operates 24/7 just metres from many homes and causes some properties, including Lucille Wood’s, to “vibrate”.
“It’s unbelievable. I’ve been a resident for 50 years and I’ve never experienced noise like this,” Wood told 9News.
When the site opened without consultation last year, heavy trucks used the street overnight, diggers dumped rocks and soil, and screeching rail grinding kept nearby residents, many of whom are new parents, wide awake.
“It’s like torture,” Sarah Donato said.
“The grinding of the rails is excruciating, it’s like fingernails down a chalkboard.”
Young mother Romy Zinger said she’s “devastated”.
“We’re talking about potential hearing loss for our children. It’s been pretty traumatic.”
The public outcry forced the site to close and Metro Trains to apologise, with chief executive Raymond O’Flaherty admitting “the situation should have been handled better”.
However, locals were told in January the site would be returning and a “noise wall” would be built to help address issues.
“Unfortunately, the noise, dust and all the other issues (like heavy vehicles) we’ve had problems with will still exist,” resident Hayley Nelson told 9News.
Further infuriating the community is a lack of consultation from the government despite Transport Minister Ben Carroll saying in a press conference on February 15 there had been “lots of forums, lots of meetings with residents”.
Residents said there had only been one meeting, in April last year, and that it had been called by them.
Yarra City councillor Stephen Jolly slammed Carroll’s assertions as a “total lie”.
“They have not consulted with the people,” Jolly told 9News.
“They were going to move (the rail maintenance site) before the election, now after the election they’re not. It’s cynical and disgusting,” he said.
At least 40 emails to the government from concerned community members have been ignored, except for one bungle that saw the public transport minister’s office direct concerns to Transport and Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan, only to have Allan’s office handball the query back to Carroll.
“It’s laughable. The fact they can’t get that right just shows they haven’t done the due process to get that train yard right,” community spokesperson Adam Promnitz said.
The Department of Transport and Planning clarified to 9News the public transport minister is responsible for the ongoing operation of the facility.
There are also concerns the spoil from the rail line that is dumped at the site may be dangerous, with dust blanketing cars parked in the street and parents fearing their children are breathing it in.
“Think about where that dust is coming from, it’s spoil from the railway line that has been there for decades,” resident Janak Mayer told 9News.
“It’s definitely full of combustion by-products, heavy metals and dioxins.”
The government wouldn’t answer questions from 9News about whether health, safety and environment reports had been completed ahead of the return of the facility.
A spokesperson also ignored questions about whether alternative sites had been considered.
“The upgrades to the Victoria Park train stabling facility will allow more trains to run more often on the Mernda and Hurstbridge train lines,” the Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said.
The government also wouldn’t comment about whether they could assure the community that noise from the site would stay below acceptable EPA noise limits.