The West Footscray to Albion Rail Upgrade is the first stage of building a rail line to Melbourne Airport, with the Victorian and Australian governments committing $4.1 billion for the project.
Getting on with this work now is critical for future Melbourne Airport Rail stages, including dedicated tracks to the airport, and new stations at the airport and Keilor East.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Australian and Victorian governments, and Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd, the operator of Melbourne Airport, with the three parties working together to progress the planning of a rail line to the airport.
Melbourne Airport Rail route
As part of future stages of Melbourne Airport Rail, new dedicated tracks will be built along the existing Albion-Jacana freight corridor between Sunshine and Airport West. The tracks will divert off the freight corridor crossing the Western Ring Road (M80) and head towards the airport following Airport Drive, before arriving at a new premium train station at Melbourne Airport.
The Melbourne Airport Rail Business Case shows the significant benefits the project will bring – better connecting people in Melbourne and regional Victoria to the Airport and the world.
The Strategic Appraisal (PDF, 749.5 KB) found that the Sunshine route performs better than other route options that were considered.
This route provides improved connections to more areas of Melbourne including the Metro Tunnel as well as better connections to regional Victoria via the Sunshine Superhub.
Keilor East Station
Early works on the project have been completed, with Stage 1: West Footscray to Albion Rail Upgrade to be completed in 2030.
A new station at Keilor East will be built as part of future stages of Melbourne Airport Rail.
Connecting Keilor East to the rail network for the first time via Melbourne Airport Rail and the Metro Tunnel improves access for these communities to Melbourne Airport and key employment areas including Sunshine, Parkville, St Kilda Road precinct, Monash / Clayton and Dandenong.
- Local commuters will enjoy a ‘turn-up-and-go’ service every 10 minutes.
- Trips from Keilor East to the heart of the CBD will take around 27 minutes, a travel time saving of around 20 minutes compared to existing public transport options.
- People travelling from Keilor East will reach Melbourne Airport in around 6 minutes.
The new station will feature connections to the existing bus network and include car parking and bicycle parking to support access by all transport modes.