Melbourne Airport Rail

The Victorian Government has given the green light to progress the detailed Business Case for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, having selected the Sunshine Route as its preferred route.

This decision is consistent with the recommendation of the 2012 Public Transport Victoria study.

Sunshine Route

The Strategic Appraisal found that the Sunshine Route performs better than the Maribyrnong, Flemington and Craigieburn options.

Compared to the other options, the Sunshine Route provides:

• Superior connections to more areas of Melbourne through its integration with the Metro Tunnel
• Superior connections to regional Victoria through an upgraded Sunshine interchange
• Earlier deliverability at a lower cost Combined Relative Benefit and Deliverability.

View the Melbourne Airport Rail Link - Strategic Appraisal [PDF 770KB].

Next steps

The selection of the Sunshine Route enables the following next steps:

• Progress the development of the detailed Business Case for the Sunshine Route
• Start stakeholder engagement to help inform the Business Case
• Commence detailed planning and development including investigation of economic, social and environmental impacts
• Determine the required statutory approval processes to enable the delivery of the MARL.

The Business Case will be completed by 2020 and will assess station and procurement options, value capture and creation opportunities, and economic analysis of the recommended solution. Construction is set to begin in 2022 and will take up to nine years to complete.