维多利亚州政府被曝秘密上调公交票价以资助争议铁路项目

维多利亚州审计长于周三向议会提交的报告揭露，该州政府为资助郊区铁路环线（SRL）等基础设施项目，已于2025年1月1日起秘密上调公共交通票价且未公开披露。1 根据该计划，大墨尔本地区和维多利亚州地区的所有公共交通票价将在现有通胀调整的基础上，每年额外加征1%的附加费。1 这笔附加费收入预计至2062年的净现值将达到48亿澳元，其中60%的资金将被专门划拨用于资助SRL东段工程。1

SRL东段项目规划为从Cheltenham至Box Hill的26公里双隧道工程，其整体资金计划包括联邦与州政府共同出资115亿澳元，以及通过价值捕获方式筹集另外115亿澳元。1 然而，审计长报告对该项目能否按期按预算完工提出质疑，指出其早期工程已出现长达6个月的显著延误，且车站合同至今尚未授出。1 报告指出，该项目承诺的2035年完工日期正面临风险，且最终成本极有可能超过其公开披露的高达345亿澳元的成本。1

A report by the Victorian auditor-general, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, revealed that the state government secretly increased public transport fares by introducing a 1% annual levy across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria starting January 1, 2025, to fund the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) 1. Applied on top of existing inflation adjustments, the levy revenue is estimated at $4.8 billion in net present value terms to 2062, with 60% of the revenue allocated to fund the SRL East section 1.

The SRL East project is a 26-kilometer stretch of twin tunnels from Cheltenham to Box Hill, supported by a funding plan of $11.5 billion from the Commonwealth and state governments and $11.5 billion through value capture methods 1. The auditor-general's report questions whether the SRL East can be delivered on time and on budget, noting that the project has experienced significant delays of up to six months on early works and station contracts are yet to be awarded, putting the promised 2035 completion date at risk 1. Furthermore, the report indicates that the project is more likely than not to exceed its publicly disclosed cost of up to $34.5 billion 1.