Transport in Melbourne’s booming west is set for a huge boost in the coming months, with a bigger and more modern Melton Station set to open in September and 3 dangerous and congested level crossings gone for good.
Following the opening of the new Ferris Road bridge in Melton on Wednesday 15 July, crews will work around the clock next month to finish building the new elevated Melton Station and rail bridges over Coburns and Exford roads, with buses replacing trains on sections of the Ballarat, Ararat and Maryborough lines from Wednesday 12 August to Monday 31 August.
When services resume on Tuesday 1 September, passengers will use the new accessible Melton Station, featuring 2 entrances and lift and stair access via a 16m wide station underpass, providing locals with a safe way to cross the rail line.
Customer service and toilet facilities will remain at the temporary station while work continues across the station precinct.
The Melton Line will soon be able to carry more passengers, with 2 of the 4 new platforms built for longer 9-car VLocity trains that will be able to run on the line from next year, boosting capacity by 50% on peak services.
The new station has been future proofed for electrification of the Melton Line, enabling Metro services to use 2 of the platforms in the future and electric trains to be housed at the Cobblebank stabling yard being built east of the station.
As part of the construction blitz, Exford Road will be closed at the level crossing from Tuesday evening 11 August until Monday 31 August to remove the boom gates, lower the road underneath the elevated rail line and crane the final bridge beams into place.
When the boom gate free Exford Road reopens, Coburns Road will temporarily close at the level crossing from Sunday 6 September to Thursday 24 September to remove the boom gates and reconstruct the road and footpath.
Finishing works across the precinct will continue until later this year, including construction of the new 7 bay bus interchange, station facilities, forecourts, and landscaping.
