South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance lobbyists Trevor Carroll and Darren Peters have received the Public Transport Users Association’s inaugural Paul Mees Award for transport advocacy.
Association spokesman Tony Morton described their efforts to bring rail services to Melbourne’s north as “a great example of people power”.
“They have laboured tirelessly to bring much-needed rail services to the northern suburbs, and the fact that trains now run to South Morang is due in no small part to their campaigning,”
Dr Morton said. “They continue to push for a further rail extension to Mernda, and the PTUA is right behind them.
“The fact that governments of both sides have resisted providing fast, frequent, efficient public transport into all parts of Melbourne is a damning indictment on the state of transport planning in Victoria.”
Dr Mees, who died earlier this year, was a long-time advocate for better public transport and a world-renowned transport academic.
“In making this award, we hope it can help in some way to ensure his legacy lives on,” Dr Morton said.
Mr Peters said the alliance would meet opposition leader Daniel Andrews tomorrow to deliver a clear message to state Labor that if it wanted support at next year’s election, it needed to commit to extending the rail service from South Morang to Mernda in its first term.
