10 minute trains for Cranbourne

The Victorian Government is investing more than $1 billion to duplicate the Cranbourne Line, remove level crossings and build a new Merinda Park Station – improving safety, reducing congestion and allowing for more trains more often.

This upgrade is just one part of a bigger transport plan working to improve the Cranbourne Line.

It will mean better access to jobs, health and education for fast-growing communities in Melbourne’s outer south east.

Improving the Cranbourne Line

• Metro Tunnel project – more trains more often on Cranbourne Line.
• Duplicating track between Dandenong and Cranbourne.
• Making Cranbourne the first level crossing-free line in Victoria.
• 65 new longer trains, to start running on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines first.
• Increased power and signalling to run more trains.

Combined, these projects will allow for 10-minute services on the Cranbourne Line, with room for 121,000 extra peak hour passengers each week and travel times cut by up to 50 minutes a day.

Getting you home sooner

A range of projects are underway to keep Melbourne’s south east moving.

• Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines will be connected via a new tunnel under the city. The Metro Tunnel will create room for an additional 500,000 peak passengers every week across Melbourne, slashing journey times by up to 50 minutes a day.
• A new fleet of bigger, better trains will run on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, eventually travelling through the Metro Tunnel and all the way out to Sunbury. Power and signalling is also being upgraded to prepare for the new trains.
• Major road projects are underway including at Hallam Road, Thompsons Road (major works complete) and Pound Road West (in planning).

Find out more at about these projects on the Big Build website.

What we're doing

• Duplicating more than 8km of track, paving the way for trains every 10 minutes
• Rebuilding Merinda Park Station, used by 1100 people each weekday
• Removing 4 level crossings, easing congestion for more than 39,000 vehicles per day.
• Creating more than 1000 jobs during construction.

What's involved

Upgrading the Cranbourne Line is essential to meet the needs of fast-growing communities in Melbourne’s outer south east.

To get more people to where they need to go faster, we need to duplicate track, build new rail bridges, build a brand new Merinda Park Station, and upgrade signalling and other rail infrastructure. It’s a lot of work – and to minimise disruptions to commuters on the Cranbourne Line, we will coordinate the works and do as much as we can without affecting train services.

Track duplication

Past Dandenong Station, there are only 2 short sections of double track on the Cranbourne Line. These sections are the only places where trains can pass each other, increasing delays and limiting the number of services that can run.

The project will build 8km of new track, fully duplicating the line and paving the way for a future rail extension out to Clyde.

We'll leave most of the existing tracks in place so trains can keep running while we work on the second set of tracks. We will need to install new signals and wires to cater for the new tracks, and build new rail bridges at Abbotts Road and Eumemmerring Creek.

A new Merinda Park Station

Merinda Park Station services around 1100 passengers each weekday. We will rebuild the station with dual platforms and tracks in each direction. There’ll be opportunities to contribute to the station design as the project progresses.

Level crossing removals

The project will remove the final 4 level crossings between Cranbourne and the city, making our roads safer and less congested.

We'll be separating road and rail at Webster Street, Dandenong; Greens Road, Dandenong South; Evans Road, Lyndhurst and Camms Road, Cranbourne North.

To keep disruption to a minimum, we’ll coordinate level crossing removals with the duplication works. At Greens Road, the preferred design is for a rail bridge over the road. Level crossing works at Evans Road have already begun.

Planning for rail to Clyde

Unless we duplicate the single track, the train line can’t be extended out to Clyde. Planning for this important future project is underway.

Works at Abbotts Road

As part of the Cranbourne Line Upgrade, we’ll be returning to Abbotts Road in Dandenong South to install a second rail bridge.

Locals will be well aware of a tragic collision that occurred at this crossing in recent years, leading to the deaths of 2 people.

This crossing was unacceptably dangerous, which is why we got the job done as soon as we could. It’s meant a safer and more reliable journey for the 2000-plus vehicles that use Abbotts Road each day.

Project timeline

2019

• Construction starts at Evans Road
• Consultation underway at all sites

2020

• Evans Road level crossing works complete
• Track duplication works start

Early 2023

• Duplication works complete

Early 2025

• All 4 level crossings gone for good

* Please note that the timeline above is subject to change.

Join the conversation

We want to understand what is important to you, how you travel around your local area, and what you see as the challenges and opportunities.

Provide your feedback online on our online engagement hub.

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