Thirroul's 150-space commuter car park dig begins

But while he was there on Monday morning, more than 70 parking spaces at neighbouring train stations sat unused.

The government is spending about $2 million to build a 150-space commuter car park in Church Street, a short walk to Thirroul station.

The site is used for rail maintenance, which will remain on site but in a smaller space.

At present there are 112 commuter spaces at Thirroul, split between two parking areas either side of the station.

Mr Constance said the new car park aimed to address complaints from residents and businesses about the lack of on-street parking due to commuters leaving cars there all day.

"One thing we are trying to do is ease the car parking pressure that exists within the village currently, so this will hopefully assist in that process," Mr Constance said.

"When you have a parcel of land such as this which is no longer required for other purposes ... it makes sense to turn that facility into more commuter car parking.

"That's part of the government's strategy right across the whole rail network."

Critics of the car park, including Keira MP Ryan Park, say the parking problem is a creation of the revised timetable with people ignoring their local stations to drive to Thirroul.

While parking was at a premium in Thirroul during Mr Constance's visit, there were 77 empty spaces at neighbouring stations - 19 in the Bulli station commuter car park, 27 at Woonona and 31 at Austinmer.

Mr Constance said he was not too concerned about these unused car parking spaces.

"Part of the challenge here is striking a balance between getting people to town quicker versus a couple of empty car parks," Mr Constance said.

"Ultimately our aim is to get people into town quicker, into work quicker. We've seen an enormous uplift in the overall performance of this line into town and ultimately we will continue to monitor it as time progresses."

Mr Constance also disagreed with the suggestion that adding a stop at one of the stations with spare parking capacity was a better solution than the new car park.

"Everyone can't lose sight of the enormous benefits of the new timetable," he said.

"There are 125 weekly services and it does improve travel times for everybody on the South Coast line.

"We have the enormous challenge where the intercity network does have to interface with the Sydney Trains network as well."

However, he did admit the timetable wasn't beneficial for everyone.

"No system is ever going to be perfect for all residents and all commuters," Mr Constance said.

"We do monitor it and will continue to monitor it."

Owner of Thirroul business Bella Grace, Ann Baker, was adopting a "wait and see" approach to the new car park.

"I'm hoping it takes more people off the street," Ms Baker said.

She said the revised timetable continued to affect her business, with people saying they wanted to shop there but couldn't find a place to park.

"I had a few customers who were in when it was really wet.

"They said it was the first time they were in because they could get a park. It was really wet, so there was no one around."

She also said she was concerned about the effects of people leaving the new car park and turning right out of Church Street.

ghumphries@fairfaxmedia.com.au