Airport Rail Link tracks to soar above Melbourne suburbs

Sky rail bridges will be built in three suburbs as part of the $10 billion Melbourne Airport link design.

The new Melbourne Airport Rail Link will soar 55m above the Maribyrnong River and travel over the Western Ring Road via a series of elevated bridges.

The Herald Sun can reveal the design plan for the $10 billion project — to enable travellers to get between the airport and CBD in under 30 minutes — includes sections of sky rail through the suburbs of Sunshine North, Keilor East and Airport West.

Raised tracks will be built over the M80 near Airport West, where an extra station is also being considered to connect thousands of nearby residents to the suburban rail service.

Engineers are also planning to run the new line alongside freight rail tracks between Sunshine and Airport West, which will involve a 383m steel structure across the Maribyrnong — the second highest bridge in Victoria after the West Gate.

Once the line reaches Airport West and crosses above the M80, trains will run alongside Airport Drive.

Stakeholders have been briefed that there will also be a “premium” station at Tullamarine allowing passengers to disembark close to major terminals.

Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan confirmed elevated structures would be part of the “massive engineering project”, but said the details were still being planned.

Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

“Our experts are taking the time to consult with the community, carefully consider the works required, and work out the best way to deliver them,” she said.

“The confirmed Melbourne Airport Rail route via Sunshine and the Metro Tunnel is the best solution — it means the quickest trip, with the least number of interchanges for the majority of passengers.”

More information on how many kilometres of track will be elevated above suburban rooftops and where the project will impact most on residents is expected to emerge in the coming months.

The elevated sections would be similar to the controversial Cranbourne-Pakenham sky rail — built as part of the government’s level crossings removal program — which has transformed the suburban landscape in Melbourne’s southeast and ­angered many residents living on the line, but proved a vote winner in the area.

The business case for the rail link, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Daniel Andrews agreed to fund together, is still being ­finished.

It is likely to be released early next year and the project quickly put to market, with Mr Morrison and Mr ­Andrews keen to begin construction in 2022, and open to passengers in seven years.

Up to 8000 jobs will be created while it is built, with each government so far having committed $5bn to it.

“It’s key to our recovery and this design means it will benefit all Victorians,” Mr Andrews said.

An artist’s impression of an Airport Rail Link station.

Once finished, services will run every 10 minutes into the heart of the CBD, connecting through the new Melbourne Metro Tunnel and arriving within half an hour.

Sunshine station will ­become a major interchange for the airport rail services, connecting to growth areas in the city’s north and west and regional Victoria.

“The airport link is a ­nationally significant project,” the Prime Minister said last month.

“When complete, the link will slash travel times, bust congestion and be a major boost to the economy.”

Thousands of residents in Airport West, Keilor East, Keilor Park and Avondale Heights have petitioned to be included in the rail link, which could connect them to the suburban rail network.

This is also part of a campaign to improve services through the $50bn to $100bn Suburban Rail Loop — of which the link between the airport and Sunshine is part — before a separate line will continue to Werribee.

Using the airport rail link as a part of the SRL would save the government billions of dollars in not having to ­create a separate line, but would mean different grades of train required to run between Sunshine and Werribee compared with Sunshine and the airport.

The Andrews government has also promised the ­Tullamarine train terminal will allow for an eventual connection to Broadmeadows, as part of its planned SRL.

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