Sky rail over Bell Street: Coburg, Brunswick residents offered buy-up scheme

Homes could soon be acquired by the state government on a voluntary basis as a 2.5-kilometre sky rail is built over Bell Street in Coburg to remove four level crossings from the Upfield train line in Melbourne's north.

The design of the new elevated rail line, which will be up to 11 metres high at some points and stretch from Tinning Street in Brunswick, over Bell Street, to O'Hea Street in Coburg, was released on Sunday.

The state government is opening a "voluntary purchase scheme" to homes that will be most affected by the sky rail.

An artist's impression of the Coburg and Brunswick skyrail.

"This is a very narrow rail corridor, which is why - in part - the elevated rail has been chosen as the best way to remove these level crossings," Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said.

"The Level Crossing Removal Authority will be making contact ... with each individual householder that has been identified [as a] potential candidate for the voluntary purchase scheme.

"We have done this at a number of sites across our level crossing removal program."

She would not reveal on which streets residents would be approached, saying the number of houses acquired would become clearer as people took up offers.

The state government has insisted no houses will be compulsorily acquired and no properties will need to be removed to make way for the sky rail given the nature of the rail corridor.

An artist's impression of the new, elevated Coburg train station once the skyrail on the Upfield line is built.

All four level crossings between Bell Street in Coburg and Moreland Road in Brunswick will be removed.

The existing heritage-listed Moreland and Coburg station buildings will remain and will be integrated into the new station precincts, Ms Allan said.

She was spruiking the designs for the sky rail on Sunday, saying the green, open space created underneath the elevated tracks would be almost twice the size of the MCG, and allow for a larger Moreland Station precinct, featuring barbecue facilities and a nature playground.

"These designs are the product of extensive community consultation and will not only remove these four dangerous level crossings - they’ll create new parks, paths and gardens in the heart of Coburg and Brunswick," Ms Allan said.

An artist's impression of the Coburg Station southern undercroft.

She said the local community will be invited to help "refine the open space design" over the coming weeks.

The Upfield bike path will also be upgraded so there are dedicated bicycle and pedestrian lanes, Ms Allan said.

The design for the Coburg and Brunswick skyrail was released on Sunday.

Pascoe Vale state Labor MP Lizzie Blandthorn said the local community had been supportive of removing the level crossings and "fabulous in their feedback", making more than 400 submissions online.

"They know that [level crossings] are dangerous. They know that they are congested. They know that they stop them getting around the community, particularly in this narrow corridor, people are welcoming of the opportunity to create more open space," Ms Blandthorn said.

An artist's impression of the Gandolfo Gardens, next to Moreland station.

Up to 68,000 vehicles drive through the four level crossings every day, with the boom gates down for a quarter of the morning peak.

There has been at least 24 collisions or near misses at the crossings, including a fatality at Bell Street, since 2005.

A illustration of a dog park under the new Coburg skyrail.

Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman David Davis said on Sunday that the government needed to be upfront and transparent with those impacted by the sky rail.

"Daniel Andrews and Labor have treated those who are impacted by infrastructure builds badly, failing to advise them truthfully or in a timely way what will happen to their homes or businesses," Mr Davis said.

In 2018, Metro Trains joined a local transport lobby group in calling for the Upfield line, one of the city’s most infrequent peak-hour train services, to be duplicated.

"There is an urgent need to develop a solution for the Northern Group to ensure that that there is sufficient capacity ... until the commissioning of the Metro Tunnel," Metro stated at the time.

The Upfield line is one of Melbourne's quietest, but the rail line is set for the largest yearly rise in passengers of all city trains, between 2021 and 2031.

Patronage is set to grow by 5.3 per cent a year over the decade, Public Transport Victoria data shows.

Construction of the new sky rail is planned to start later this year, with the level crossings set to be removed in 2020, and the open space ready for use in 2021.