Less than five years ago the first Metro train ran all the way out to South Morang.

Such is the frenetic pace of urban growth in Whittlesea – a population almost the size of Shepparton has moved in since then – the Andrews government is already contemplating putting in a tram line as well.

Tram route 86, between Bundoora and Docklands, is one of just three routes that extends into outer-suburban zone two.

At 22.2 kilometres, it is not quite Melbourne’s longest … yet.

The government is investigating a possible five-kilometre route extension into Melbourne’s northern growth belt, as part of a $1 million spend on readying the line for E-Class trams.

“We’re investigating a range of improvements to Route 86, including infrastructure upgrades for the rollout of bigger, safer, more accessible trams, and planning for a potential extension of the line in the future,” Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said.

This was welcome news to many Whittlesea residents who, aided by their council, have lobbied for route 86 to be extended to South Morang railway station since it opened in 2012.

For once, their campaign has infrastructure on its side.

A tram reserve already exists in the median of Plenty Road, which would cover most of the proposed extension, before the trams would veer left along Bush Boulevard and past Westfield shopping centre to the station.

Alahna Desiato, a spokeswoman for the community campaign, said the tram extension would benefit locals in many ways, but a new public transport route into the city would not be one of them.

Passengers who caught the tram from the new terminus all the way into the city would likely face a near two-hour commute, given the ride from Bundoora already takes about an hour and a half.

“I believe the tram’s purpose is more for local trips, whether to access nearby facilities or to reach another form of public transport,” Ms Desiato said. “It would give residents a choice, which they don’t currently have.”

Students could reach RMIT and La Trobe universities in Bundoora without driving, and commuters could catch it to South Morang station, easing pressure on its car park, which routinely fills before 7am, she said.

The potential extension of route 86 is just one of several tram route extensions the Public Transport Users Association is calling for, usually where current routes end just short of a railway station or shopping centre.  

“I think we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about missing links in the public transport network, the way the road lobby always talks about missing links in the road network,” PTUA president Tony Morton said.

The short extension could reduce the heavy reliance on car transport in Melbourne’s outer suburbs without a major investment, he said.

“It’s a relatively modest rail project, we’re not talking about something on the scale of Doncaster rail.”

E-Class trams are due to begin running on route 86 next month, making it the third route to get the state’s newest fleet of trams.

But their introduction has not been without complication.

Yarra Trams this week permanently removed a tram stop on Plenty Road in Preston because it is too short for the 33-metre trams to safely stop there.