Frequently asked questions about Melbourne Airport Rail

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About Melbourne Airport Rail
Frequently asked questions about Melbourne Airport Rail

Melbourne Airport Rail will deliver a rail connection to Melbourne Airport for the first time.

It will provide a viable, reliable and much-needed alternative to road travel, bringing an airport rail connection to Melbourne in line with other cities across Australia and around the world.

Melbourne Airport Rail (SRL Airport) forms a key part of Suburban Rail Loop – the new orbital rail line between Cheltenham to Werribee.

Melbourne Airport Rail will run from a new premium station at Melbourne Airport, via Keilor East, Sunshine and Footscray stations and into the heart of the CBD through the Metro Tunnel.

New dedicated tracks will be constructed along the existing Albion-Jacana freight corridor between Sunshine and Airport West. The tracks will divert off the freight corridor crossing the M80 Freeway and head towards the airport following Airport Drive, before arriving at a premium station at Melbourne Airport.

Concept designs for key locations along the Melbourne Airport Rail route were released in June 2021.

This route delivers the best connections from Melbourne Airport to the regions and suburbs for all Victorians, getting people to where they want to go with easy transfers to all regional lines and direct trips into the heart of the CBD in around 30 minutes.

Proposed scope as part of Melbourne Airport Rail includes:

new dedicated tracks for airport services along the existing Albion-Jacana freight corridor between Sunshine and Airport West
major works at Sunshine Station including a new, accessible second pedestrian concourse with escalators and lifts for better passenger connections between regional, metropolitan and Melbourne Airport trains
track reconfiguration including new tracks rising over Anderson Road through to the start of the Albion-Jacana corridor, elevating the rail line over the Sunbury corridor, Ballarat Road and St Albans Road
a rebuild of Albion Station
a new station at Keilor East
a new rail bridge to cross over the Maribyrnong River alongside the existing heritage bridge
a new rail bridge to cross over the Western Ring Road (M80)
a new premium station at Melbourne Airport
changes to existing road bridges, pedestrian connections and other rail infrastructure upgrades – such as new signalling and power systems – along the length of the route.

We’ve released concept designs to show what the project might look like at key locations along the Melbourne Airport Rail route.

We’re continuing to refine reference designs for these locations and others along the route, with specific details and project scope to be finalised once works contracts are awarded.

Sunshine Station is already an important interchange and will become a transport superhub in Melbourne’s west, as a key connection point for metropolitan, regional and airport services.

Melbourne Airport Rail (SRL Airport) will deliver a range of upgrades to Sunshine Station including:

a new, accessible second concourse with escalators and lifts for better passenger connections between regional, metropolitan and Melbourne Airport trains
platform extensions and better access to existing platforms including more weather protection
extra ticketing gates at the main entrance to improve accessibility for people, including those with luggage
double the number of lifts in the station to improve accessibility and ease of movement for travellers with luggage.

These major improvements to Sunshine Station will complement other investments being made through the Metro Tunnel, Sunbury Line Upgrade and Suburban Rail Loop and the Sunshine Station Precinct masterplan that will turn Sunshine into a key transport precinct and jobs centre for western Melbourne.

Rail Projects Victoria is continuing to work with the Department of Transport and Planning and other stakeholders on this important precinct planning work. Read more about the Sunshine Transport Precinct on the Department of Transport and Planning website.

Albion Station will be rebuilt to become a modern and accessible station. It will provide an important boost to this growing precinct.

The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) have been working together to explore how to overhaul the station. Their focus has been on improving safety and connectivity for the community.

Further design development and community engagement will be undertaken to shape the details of the rebuild.

Melbourne Airport is an incredibly busy thoroughfare, and the design of Melbourne Airport Rail, including a new station at the airport, has to consider a range of existing infrastructure and any future expansion plans of airport owners APAM.

Now that we’ve confirmed the Melbourne Airport Rail route between Sunshine and the CBD via the Metro Tunnel, we’re entering into more detailed discussions with key stakeholders – including APAM – to come up with the best design and determine the exact location for the new train station at Melbourne Airport.

The area from Sharps Road to Melbourne Airport is on Commonwealth land and subject to separate planning approvals processes.

The new station will accommodate a future connection with Suburban Rail Loop services.

Yes, we will build a new station at Keilor East, connecting more than 150,000 residents in the City of Moonee Valley area to Victoria’s rail network for the first time.

Some land acquisition will be required for the construction and future operation of Melbourne Airport Rail. At this stage we expect this to be limited to commercial properties only.

There is a Public Acquisition Overlay (PAO 7) in place in areas between Tullamarine and Sunshine to reserve land for a rail line. This was put in place in 2005, when landowners and tenants were notified of a possible future acquisition.

There is still a considerable amount of design work to do to finalise land impacts, including identifying properties required under the PAO, whether additional land outside the PAO areas will be required and whether properties are required permanently or temporarily as part of the project.

We are committed to working closely with impacted landowners and tenants to keep them informed as planning progresses.

The Victorian and Australian governments have committed $5 billion each to the project to date.

We expect the project to cost between $8 and 13 billion, this is consistent with the figure outlined in the Sunshine Route Strategic Appraisal. The final project budget will be confirmed once all major contracts are awarded.

Melbourne Airport Rail is a massive engineering project and informed by feedback from the industry, it will be delivered by several packages to provide more opportunities to different contractors.

Rail Projects Victoria will run a robust and thorough tender process prior to awarding any delivery contracts for the project.

Further details are available on the Market engagement page.

Melbourne Airport Rail services will run every 10 minutes, which equates to 6 services per hour with seamless travel to the heart of Melbourne’s CBD in around 30 minutes.

Melbourne Airport Rail will use the new fleet of High Capacity Metro Trains. These trains will be the most modern, highest capacity and passenger friendly trains operating on the Victorian network.

These bigger and better trains will have more carriages, better accessibility features, more hand-holds and more space than existing trains.

Passengers on the Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland lines will be able to access Melbourne Airport with only one transport interchange.

Melbourne Airport Rail trains will stop at Sunshine Station, connecting passengers from the key western regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo. Running trains through the Metro Tunnel provides a direct connection to the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines allowing Gippsland passengers to access airport services through one interchange on that line.

Construction is now underway with a target opening date for Melbourne Airport Rail services of 2029, subject to relevant Victorian and Federal planning, environmental and other government approvals. View our project timeline.

We’re continuing to progress with detailed planning work for the project including site investigations, refining the reference design, consulting with key stakeholders and the community, working through the necessary statutory approvals and refining our procurement approach to deliver Melbourne Airport Rail.

To be kept informed about the project, we encourage people to register for updates and to follow the project on Facebook.

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