The west is to become home to 175,000 more people in the next decade, with many expected to settle in Melton.

Council chief executive officer Neville Smith said he had discussed with the Transport Department the urgent need for better public transport, primarily by advancing the long-awaited electrification and duplication of the railway line.

He also called for upgrades of the Melton station and a new station in the Toolern development.

Resident Gavin Webber, who uses the train every weekday to get to work in the city, said passengers had rapidly increased in the past decade.

"The trains are chock-a-block. In every carriage there are 10 people standing." He said the bumper-to-bumper drive to the city in peak hour took twice as long as the train journey, but until rail problems were fixed Melton residents would continue to drive.

He also called for more industry in Melton so fewer had to commute.

Another issue for Melton is educating the rapidly growing number of young people in the area.

The council is in talks with Ballarat University to see what tertiary options it can deliver in Melton following Victoria University's pulling of university courses from the campus.

Victoria University deputy vice-chancellor Anne Jones stood by that decision, but said it would continue to monitor the need in the local area.

"We always said if the demand was sufficient we would deliver."

TAFE courses at the campus will be expanded to cater for thousands of students in the future.

Ms Jones said it was not unusual for people to have to travel out of their local area to attend university.

VU has plans to allow students to do their first-year diploma at Melton before completing degrees at other campuses, as well as possibly offering courses online.