The Victorian Government is removing the dangerous and congested level crossings at Bell Street, Reynard Street and Munro Street in Coburg, and Moreland Road in Brunswick.

The crossings will be removed by raising the rail line over the road. This design will create new open space, deliver upgrades to the Upfield Bike Path and improve east-west connections.

The project will also build new Coburg and Moreland stations. The existing heritage station buildings will be retained in their current position and integrated into the new station precincts.

Three-month construction blitz

With a project of this scale and nature, temporary construction impacts and disruptions are to be expected. We will work with the local community to minimise impacts and disruptions where possible.

In the second half of 2020, a construction blitz of around three months will see more than 1000 people work around the clock to remove the four level crossings and build new stations.

Undertaking these works over an intense construction period minimises long-term disruption and enables the works to be conducted safely when trains aren’t running.

We are working closely with Public Transport Victoria and transport operators to plan and coordinate the disruption on the Upfield Line.

A range of train replacement bus services and public transport options will be available during planned disruptions to get passengers where they need to go. We will provide advance notification ahead of these changes to assist you with your travel plans.

A turnback facility will be temporarily installed at Anstey Station to allow trains to continue to run between the City and Anstey during the construction blitz.

Working with the community to minimise disruptions

We will be talking to local traders, residents and stakeholders to understand their needs and minimise impacts to the area where possible. We will also support local traders by maintaining pedestrian access to businesses and directing people around work sites where needed.

Our dedicated project communications team will provide advance works notifications to keep you updated about the project and communicate rail and road changes ahead of time.

Managing construction impacts

While we will aim to minimise disruption as much as possible, during construction you can expect to see road closures and detours, increased noise and dust in the construction area as well as more trucks, equipment and workers in the area. We have a number of measures in place to help manage these impacts, including:

Traffic management

We will work with VicRoads and Moreland City Council to develop traffic management plans that consider local traffic conditions.

Dust

Some of the mitigation measures include using dedicated water trucks to suppress dust onsite as well as monitoring weather conditions to help plan excavation works.

Noise

We will conduct noise modelling as well as noise monitoring to help plan and manage noisy works. Where possible, we will schedule noisy works during less sensitive hours and consult with affected residents to minimise impacts.

Out-of-hours works

We will provide advance notice of any out-of-hours and night works, and communicate the likely impacts.

Upfield Bike Path

There will be an extended temporary closure of the Upfield Bike Path to undertake upgrade works. We are working with Moreland City Council and other key stakeholders to identify safe and convenient detour routes and will communicate them ahead of time.

Once the project is complete, locals will have separated cyclist and pedestrian paths, with improved facilities along the trail.