The Melbourne Airport Rail Link is a proposed rail line that aims to connect the Melbourne Airport with the city center.
The project intends to provide a direct and convenient transportation option for travelers and reduce congestion on the roads.
The Victorian Government has committed funding for the project, and detailed planning and construction are currently underway.
The rail link is expected to improve accessibility to the airport and enhance connectivity within the greater Melbourne region.
About the project:
Melbourne Airport Rail will connect Melbourne Airport to Victoria’s regional and metropolitan train network.
Trains will run from Melbourne Airport through to Sunshine Station, then into the Metro Tunnel and the heart of the CBD, before continuing on to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
This eagerly awaited project will connect people from the airport to where they need to go – be that work, home or Victoria’s key tourism destinations – via a rail service for the first time.
Melbourne Airport Rail (SRL Airport) forms a key part of Suburban Rail Loop – the new orbital rail line between Cheltenham and Werribee.
Melbourne Airport Rail (SRL Airport):
Melbourne Airport Rail is a proposed rail link from the Melbourne CBD to Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine.
Since October 2022, the project has also been considered as part of the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) and branded as SRL Airport.
The rail link will run through the under-construction Metro Tunnel, running 27 km from the airport to Town Hall station in the city center with 12 km of new track between the airport and Sunshine station.
The link will be a new branch of the Melbourne Metro rail network and run High-Capacity Metro Trains at a 10-minute frequency. The project is being delivered by the Victorian state government agency Rail Projects Victoria.
Melbourne Airport Trains:
The Victorian and Federal governments have committed $5 billion each to deliver the new link to the airport.
Airport trains will run through the Metro Tunnel, providing passengers with a 10-minute turn-up-and-go service from Melbourne Airport and a journey of around 30 minutes into the CBD.
The 2022-23 Victorian State Budget provided $123 million to deliver an additional five new High Capacity Metro Trains to service the Melbourne Airport Rail Link once opened, bringing the total High Capacity Metro Trains fleet to 70.
Planning and development of Melbourne Airport Rail is continuing, to refine the project’s scope, designs, and procurement approach.
Construction will begin in 2022 with a target completion date of 2029 subject to relevant Victorian and Federal planning, environmental, and other government approvals.
Project updates:
The Australian Government is undertaking a 90-day review of its Infrastructure Investment Program, with jointly funded Victorian projects that are not election commitments or under major construction to be included.
Early works on Melbourne Airport Rail continue, but no new contracts will be awarded during the review period.
This website will be updated with further information when it is available.
Melbourne airport rail on track but facing delays down the line:
melbourne airport rail link completion date:
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says a delivery date for Melbourne’s Airport Rail Link remains unknown as ‘incredibly frustrating’ negotiations over the finer details of the project continue.
The future of the project had been under a cloud while a federal government review into infrastructure projects took place.
In the review, which was released on Thursday, it was revealed the Commonwealth is scrapping 82 “high risk” projects, including 12 in Victoria.
Victorian government urged to ‘get on with’ airport rail link after project survives funding cull:
The Victorian government is being urged to “get on with” building Melbourne’s long-planned airport rail, after the troubled project survived a major federal cull of infrastructure projects.
The state government promised an airport rail link if it won the 2018 election, but five years later a set plan remains in limbo.
The federal government has allocated $5 billion towards the project in a move that will fund half of the required costs.
Sources: Wikipedia – Victoria Big Build – 9news – abc news
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