Our crews are hard at work adding the finishing touches to the 3 new train station precincts at Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach – including building pedestrian crossings, walking and cycling paths, landscaping and car parks – with the job due to be completed by the middle of the year.
As part of the ongoing works this month, buses will replace trains between Mordialloc, Frankston and Stony Point from 8.30pm Thursday 10 February to last service Sunday 13 February to allow our crews to safely continue applying the finishing touches to the station precincts, rail trenches and carry out rail signalling works.
Trains have been stopping at the new stations since November 2021 after the removal of the 5 dangerous and congested level crossings that previously made travel for commuters and residents of the 3 bayside suburbs difficult.
As part of the finishing works, more pedestrian crossings will progressively open early this year, including the new Chelsea Road pedestrian bridge above the sunken rail line, and at Berry Avenue, Chelsea; Broadway, Bonbeach; and The Glade, Bonbeach.
New walking and cycling paths will create more than 11km of shared use paths between Edithvale and Frankston, landscaping will feature more than 800 trees and 85,000 shrubs, groundcovers and grasses and station carparks will have CCTV and more lighting to create safer station precincts.
Chelsea business Carvosso Cakes is conveniently located close to a new pedestrian crossing connecting Chelsea Station to Nepean Highway traders, and owner Brendon Hick is delighted to witness the suburb’s ongoing transformation, saying 'it’s going to be marvellous, great for the businesses.'
The boom gates at Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach had previously been down for up to 40% of the morning peak, causing delays for commuters including drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
More than 40,000 commuters use the Frankston Line every day and the boom gates would have been down for even longer without the project because of network plans to run more trains on the line.
The Victorian Government is investing more than $4 billion in the Frankston Line to consign 20 level crossings to history and build 13 new stations by 2025, with a total of 85 dangerous and congested level crossings being removed across Melbourne by 2025.
Works are due to start later this year to remove another 2 dangerous and congested level crossings at Glen Huntly and build a new Glenhuntly Station. Another 2 level crossings are also being removed at Mentone and Parkdale, with the creation of a new Parkdale Station by 2025.