Passengers in Melbourne’s south east are reminded to plan ahead as construction ramps up in Pakenham to remove 3 dangerous and congested level crossings and build 2 new stations at Pakenham and East Pakenham.
The level crossings at McGregor Road, Main Street and Racecourse Road are being removed by building an elevated rail bridge over the roads. The crossings will be gone for good and new, modern, accessible stations at Pakenham and East Pakenham will open to passengers in 2024.
A team of more than 500 construction crew will work around the clock in July and August, with works including piling – using giant drills to install large posts into the ground – installing overhead cables and signals, and drainage works along the rail line.
In recent months, we set up site sheds for the Pakenham workforce in Bourke Park and at East Pakenham, and completed track and excavation works.
A new, modern premium station will be built at Pakenham, rejuvenating the town centre and providing safer and more direct connections between public transport, local shopping and additional parking.
The Pakenham rail line will also be extended by 2km and a brand-new East Pakenham Station built to meet the needs of this fast-growing community. Expected to include more than 7000 homes, residents of the new Pakenham East suburb will have easy access to the new station when it opens – connecting locals to public transport, schools, shopping and employment opportunities from the day they move in.
In other great news for commuters, the new East Pakenham Station will include 300 car parking spaces, as well as bike facilities, bus bays and dedicated pick-up and drop-off zones to allow passengers to be easily dropped off and collected close to the station – giving people the option to leave the car at home.
Featuring 4 tracks – including 2 dedicated bypass tracks – the new station will remove a major V/Line and Metro trains bottleneck, reducing congestion and boosting reliability for regional and metropolitan passengers.
The project will create 6 MCGs worth of new community open space underneath for locals to enjoy, with designs expected to be released later this year, incorporating community feedback.
So we can safely get the work done, buses will replace trains on sections of the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Gippsland lines from Wednesday 27 July to Sunday 7 August.
