In 2017, when Radhika and Anuj Sood bought their block of land in Truganina, in Melbourne's outer west, they were told the train station around the corner would be built by 2020.
Five years later, they are still waiting.
Last week, the state government announced $200 million for the next stage of planning the train station at Truganina, along with a new station at Tarneit West, to be built by 2026.
There's no date on when the Truganina station is expected to be built.
The stations were initially listed among "potential future stations" when the Victorian government built the Regional Rail Link in 2012.
Radhika Sood said the population in Truganina has been booming, and locals have been calling on the state government to build those stations for years.
"People are being taken for granted," she said. "That's what we are discussing amongst our friends and neighbours."
Ms Sood works in Footscray, which is just 20 minutes away on the train.
However, she said, she needs to leave more than two hours early, to allow time to drive to Tarneit station, which is often very crowded.
"Sometimes there's too much traffic to get into the train station so I need to leave my house at 7, 7.30," she said.
Tarneit station the busiest outside Southern Cross
Tarneit station is the second-busiest V/Line station in Victoria, after Southern Cross, with more than 1.24 million people using the station in 2019.
The 1,000-space car park station is usually full by about 7am, and work is underway to add an extra 500 spaces, as well as new bike parking and CCTV.
Ms Sood said the announcement of funding the planning stage of Truganina station felt like a "blow to the face".
"It's like you have been ignored and you will be ignored forever," she said.
Ahead of next month's state election, pollsters say voters in Melbourne's outer west are feeling neglected because of a lack of services.
Wyndham City Council estimates more than 98,000 people live in Tarneit and Truganina. By 2040, that is set to expand to more than 180,000 residents.
Mayor Peter Maynard said the council was advocating for four new train stations to be built along the Wyndham Vale corridor.
"If you put Wyndham and our brothers at Melton City Council in the mix, we've got a population bigger than Adelaide," he said.
And, he said, the population growth is showing no sign of slowing.
"We've got anywhere between 110 and 130 babies born every week," Cr Maynard said.
"So, in one week, there's a kinder and, in one month, there's a primary school.
"[The train line] should be doing its job."
Years-long wait for new infrastructure
RMIT's Centre for Urban Research associate professor Andrew Butt said the new stations have been planned for years, and would be welcomed by locals.
"The fact this train line has languished as a V/Line, with only a few stops through a big growth corridor, is a big challenge," he said.
However, he said, more stations would not solve the problems.
He warned that more needed to be done to upgrade the rail network across Melbourne's outer west, including electrifying the line, managing improvements around Geelong, and the western side of the Suburban Rail Loop project.
He said the Tarneit corridor was the first new rail corridor in Melbourne since the Glen Waverley line in the 1930s.
"A decade on, it should be doing its job, and its job is to provide proper suburban transport links," he said.
"This is a great piece of infrastructure and it should be used to its full potential."
Premier Daniel Andrews said the government was investing in infrastructure in the west.
"They're growing communities, and we're going to get on and deliver those stations, together with upgrades to the line, new rolling stock, removal of level crossings," he said.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Matthew Guy said the government had taken the west for granted.
"The government has had eight years to do this. They've had eight years in office," he said.
"They've supposedly been the champions of the west for eight years, yet failed to build any of the infrastructure that's required."
