Labor’s public transit platform on track

THE Mandurah railway is set to reach crush capacity by 2031.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese took part in a meet and greet at Mandurah station with Canning Labor candidate Matt Keogh.

According to Mr Albanese, Canning residents were spending longer in their cars and less time at home.

Mr Albanese blamed the Abbott Government for failing to address worsening congestion and public transport in the area.

He said the National Infrastructure audit, released in April, showed seven of the top 10 roads across Australia predicted to have the worst congestion in 2031 were in Perth.

Perth airport was the fourth busiest in the country.

Rapidly increasing passenger numbers meant bad news for thousands of FIFO workers in the Canning electorate who already spent hundreds of hours travelling each year.

Mr Albanese said people living in the southern suburbs deserved a representative who would fight for them and help address the increasingly long hours spent in cars.

"The Liberals want to spend money on roads, the Greens want to spend money on rail, but what we need is both," he said.

"Only a Federal Labor Government will end the blame game and get on with building public transport as well as the roads Perth needs.

"We must send a strong message to Tony Abbott that his performance is not up to scratch and WA has been neglected."