Construction of Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop is well underway, with early works kicking off at Keilor East.
The Suburban Rail Loop will connect every major suburban and regional line to Melbourne Airport, with those on the Suburban Rail Loop line to be connected by a direct trip and passengers on other suburban lines no longer needing to travel into the city just to travel back out.
“This is a great day for our local community – Melbourne Airport Rail will be a boon for people from Melbourne’s west who will be able to get to the airport quickly and safely,” says Member for Footscray Katie Hall.
When completed, the Suburban Rail Loop Airport Line will mean passengers can get from the CBD to the airport in around 30 minutes.
More than 30 stations across Melbourne will have a direct connection to the airport via the Metro Tunnel, and passengers from most other stations in Victoria will only need to change trains once.
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Supporting the project, the Victorian Government is also investing $143 million to deliver the first stage of the Sunshine Precinct Masterplan.
The Station Place package will include station enhancements, a new bus interchange, shared vehicle and pedestrian pavements, more open-space and the creation of future development sites.
“Getting started on this much-needed upgrade to Sunshine Station and Station Place comes on top of a brand-new station at Tarneit West, an overhaul of Albion Station and planning for a station at Truganina – creating jobs, supporting local businesses and getting passengers home safer and sooner,” says Member for Tarneit Sarah Connolly.
The first tranche of works on Suburban Rail Loop Airport includes the removal and relocation of six AusNet electricity transmission towers between the Western Ring Road (M80) and the existing Albion-Jacana freight corridor.
New towers will create space for a new rail bridge over the Western Ring Road, taking trains north to the airport every 10 minutes and connecting more than 150,000 passengers in the City of Moonee Valley area to Victoria’s expanding rail network for the first time, with a new station at Keilor East.
The relocation of the AusNet towers will take place alongside a broader early works package that will move up to 250 key utilities – including powerlines, gas mains, communications equipment, and sewer and water supplies.
A construction consortium of FCC Construction Australia, Winslow Infrastructure and McConnell Dowell have been selected as the preferred contractor to deliver key parts of the project, including the approximately 550 metre twin track rail bridge over the Maribyrnong River.
The bridge will stand more than 50 metres above the river valley at its highest point, making it the second highest bridge in Victoria – second only to the West Gate Bridge.
A second construction consortium of John Holland, CPB, KBR and AECOM have been selected as the preferred contractor to deliver the Sunshine Systems Alliance works package to transform Sunshine Station, rebuild Albion Station, and build twin tracks between Sunshine and the Albion-Jacana corridor, including the elevated rail bridge.
These works will pave the way for major construction next year.