Transforming road and rail travel

As part of Victoria’s Big Build more than $20 billion is being invested into major road and rail projects in Melbourne’s west. These projects will reduce congestion, cut travel times and provide more trains more often on every train line in the western suburbs.

The Metro Tunnel, Melbourne Airport Rail, Geelong Fast Rail, Sunbury Line Upgrade and Suburban Rail Loop will transform train travel, making getting to work, school and health services quicker and easier.

Find out more about improvements in the west and north west.

Airport Rail takes off

Melbourne Airport Rail is a transformational public transport project giving Victorians the choice to travel to and from Melbourne Airport by train for the first time.

It will connect a new station at the airport to Sunshine via a dedicated train line. An upgraded Sunshine Station super hub will also provide a direct connection for passengers using Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo services.

The airport train will then travel into the Metro Tunnel stopping at new underground stations at Parkville, the CBD and St Kilda Road, before continuing to the Cranbourne and Pakenham train lines.

Airport services will depart every 10 minutes and will take 11 minutes to travel to Sunshine, 18 minutes to Footscray and around 30 minutes to Melbourne CBD. Melbourne Airport Rail is planned to open in 2029.

Airport journey time in minutes

_{Subject to Commonwealth and State government statutory planning and environmental approvals, including airport approvals.}

7 level crossings gone and 6 more to go

These 7 level crossings have been removed:

• Main Rd, St Albans - 2016
• Furlong Road, St Albans - 2016
• Melton Highway, Sydenham - 2018
• Kororoit Creek Road, Williamstown North - 2018
• Aviation Road, Laverton - 2019
• Werribee Street, Werribee - 2021
• Cherry Street, Werribee - 2021

These 6 level crossings are due to be removed:

• Old Geelong Road, Hoppers Crossing - 2022
• Gap Road, Sunbury - 2022
• Ferguson Street, Williamstown - 2022
• Fitzgerald Road, Ardeer - 2023
• Robinsons Road, Deer Park -2023
• Mt Derrimut Road, Deer Park - 2024

46th crossing the cherry on top

We’re well on the way to removing 75 dangerous and congested level crossings in Victoria by 2025, with the 46th removed at Cherry Street in Werribee in March. This is ahead of the original 2022 opening date.

Construction has begun at Ferguson Street in Williamstown, with designs for the new station and surrounding precinct released to the community. Disruptions will be in place from August to November.

Fitzgerald Road and Robinsons Road fast-tracked for completion by 2023

Work is also underway at Hoppers Crossing, where a new road bridge is being built over the rail line at Old Geelong Road to connect it with the Princes Highway.

Major construction will start this year to remove the level crossings at Fitzgerald Road, Ardeer and Robinsons Road, Deer Park. Both projects have been fast-tracked for completion by 2023, ahead of their original date of 2025. Mt Derrimut Road, Deer Park is 12 months ahead of schedule and will be removed in 2024.

The Metro Tunnel a year ahead

The Metro Tunnel will create a new end-to-end rail line from Sunbury in the west to Cranbourne/ Pakenham in the south-east, with five new underground stations.

We are making great progress, with the western tunnel entrance in Kensington built, and all four tunnel boring machines now finished digging.

TBM tunnelling is now complete

The Metro Tunnel is due for completion in 2025 and will provide direct access to North Melbourne, to world-class universities and hospitals in Parkville, to the CBD and St Kilda Road, and to Melbourne Airport via Melbourne Airport Rail.

The project will provide more trains more often on every train line in Melbourne’s west and slash travel times by up to 40 minutes a day.

More trains as Ballarat Line Upgrade complete

Major works to upgrade the Ballarat Line are now complete, with passengers right along the line enjoying hundreds of extra train services each week.

A total of 18km of track was duplicated between Melton and Deer Park West with new and upgraded stations also built, including a new station at Cobblebank.

Stations with extra weekly services:

• Deer Park Station +200
• Caroline Springs Station +125
• Rockbank Station +210
• Cobblebank Station +225
• Melton Station +140

Upgrade of 8 key roads finished

Melburnians working and living in the west are already enjoying quicker, easier and safer journeys, with major construction complete on all eight upgraded roads that make up the Western Roads Upgrade.

We’ve added extra lanes and removed bottlenecks to make it easier for motorists to get where they need to go.

The upgrades have also helped make bus journeys more reliable.

We’re now completing finishing works such as landscaping, planting, and installation of lighting. We’ll then continue with our road maintenance program to repair and resurface more than 260km of main roads throughout the west from Footscray to Werribee for the next 20 years.

Major road and rail projects connecting Melbourne’s west

We are investing an unprecedented $80 billion in transport infrastructure across the state, with Melbourne’s growing western suburbs a key focus.

Whether you’re making a short trip to buy groceries a few blocks away, or travelling to the other side of the state to visit loved ones, these road and rail upgrades are designed to get you where you need to go safer and sooner.

They make it easier for you to travel by road, but also offer viable alternatives through public transport or cycling.

There will be more train services stopping at every train station in the western suburbs.

Highlights

• Sunbury Line Upgrade - Bigger, more modern trains on the line. Target completion date 2023
• Melbourne Airport Rail - 30 minutes travel time from CBD to airport. Target opening date 2029
• Suburban Rail Loop - 3 transport superhubs. 90 km loop linking every major rail line.
• Geelong Fast Rail - 50 minutes travel time from Geelong to the CBD.
• The Metro Tunnel Project - 5 new underground stations, 500,000 more passengers each week.

Spotlight on Footscray Station

Footscray Station will be a transport superhub between Melbourne’s west and the CBD thanks to Melbourne Airport Rail and the Metro Tunnel.

Passengers will enjoy a turn-up-and-go service to the airport with a direct 18-minute trip every 10 minutes.

Easy connections to Melbourne’s west and regional Victoria including Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong.

Citybound trains will run every two minutes from Footscray in the peak, providing direct access to the Metro Tunnel, Southern Cross and Flinders Street.

Spotlight on Sunshine Station

Sunshine Station will be a transport superhub between Melbourne’s west and the CBD thanks to Melbourne Airport Rail and the Metro Tunnel.

Passengers will enjoy a turn-up-and-go service to the airport with a direct 11-minute trip every 10 minutes.

Sunshine Station will act as an Airport Rail interchange for Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Sunbury (inbound) passengers.

Citybound trains will run every two to three minutes from Sunshine in the peak, providing direct access to the Metro Tunnel, Southern Cross and Flinders Street.

Freeway widening works 50% complete

We’ve recently added lanes to the north and south of the West Gate Freeway (while we upgrade the centre lanes) as well as widened bridges over Williamstown Road and Millers Road to allow for two extra lanes in each direction.

Our most noticeable activity right now is on Footscray Road, where a gantry standing around 30 metres high is in place. The gantry will be used to install concrete segments that will form a new elevated road above the centre of Footscray Road.

New lanes on the West Gate Freeway will lead to the choice of the West Gate Bridge or the West Gate Tunnel, with the tunnel linking the port, CityLink and the CBD via the elevated road.

The 23km Federation Trail is also being upgraded with a new off-road path, improvements to existing sections of the trail and two new cycle-friendly pedestrian bridges over the West Gate Bridge.

• 250 bridge beams installed to widen the West Gate Freeway
• 9000 trucks per day off the local roads once complete
• up to 20 minutes saved for travellers once complete

See a 3D video of the improved Federation Trail.

Suburban Rail Loop

The north west section of the 90km rail loop will connect Broadmeadows to Sunshine, via Melbourne Airport, and the south west section will connect Sunshine to Werribee.

Construction is due to start from Cheltenham to Box Hill in 2022.

Geelong Fast Rail

Geelong Fast Rail will deliver faster services with a travel time of around 50 minutes between Geelong and Melbourne.

New dedicated track between Werribee and Laverton and upgrades along the Werribee corridor for Geelong trains is expected to cut average travel time by up to 15 minutes.

Registrations of interest are open for organisations interested in delivering the project.

Sunbury Line Upgrade

The Sunbury Line Upgrade together with the Metro Tunnel will improve capacity, reliability and frequency of train services to the outer north-western suburbs.

We’re extending station platforms, improving accessibility and upgrading power supply to support bigger, more modern trains on the line. The Sunbury Line Upgrade is due to be completed in 2023.

We’re also removing the dangerous and congested level crossing at Gap Road in Sunbury by 2022 as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project.

Winter disruptions

We’re working hard to build a better transport network over the winter months. While we work, road and public transport disruptions could affect your travel.

Removing level crossings in the west

The Williamstown Line will be closed on sections of the line for 80+ days between August and November. Buses will also replace trains on the Werribee Line in June. Disruptions continue in July on the Geelong and Ballarat lines for works on Fitzgerald and Robinsons Roads. Local roads and lanes near the crossings will be closed at times.

Sunbury Line Upgrade

The upgrade continues in July with buses replacing trains between the City and Sunbury. Buses also replace trains on the Bendigo Line for maintenance works.

Major resurfacing works in the west

The Western Roads Upgrade is resurfacing 260km of roads from Footscray to Werribee making it safer to get around. There will be disruptions to local roads in the area while the works are completed.

West Gate Tunnel adds extra lanes to the freeway

Williamstown Road and Millers Road under the West Gate Freeway are frequently closed overnight as we add two extra freeway lanes in each direction above and rebuild it from the ground up. Ramps and lanes on the West Gate Freeway are also closed at times.