‘I will suffer’: Opinions divided as Melbourne’s sky rail trains roll

RESIDENTS have expressed their devastation after the first sky rail station opened in Melbourne’s east this morning, while the feeling among commuters was mixed.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews arrives at the new Noble Park skyrail station. Picture: Jason Edwards

RESIDENTS have expressed their devastation after the first sky rail station opened in Melbourne’s east.

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Noble Park resident Chris Papapavlou was among the locals not celebrating the opening of the elevated Noble Park station on Thursday when services kicked off at 4.44am.

Mr Papapavlou’s property backs on to the project and he said his home had been ­ruined by the towering train ­infrastructure.

A man takes a seat at the new Noble Park Station. Picture: Jason Edwards

.@DanielAndrewsMP just catching a train on #Skyrail to Noble Park #Springst pic.twitter.com/T94QhRCAxE

— Alex White (@alexwhitelive) February 14, 2018

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews at the new Noble Park Station. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Andrews spruiks the new station. Picture: Jason Edwards

“I will suffer — bad luck for me,” he said. “It’s a garbage project and everybody knows it. It is much noisier.

“I have been living in my home for 35 years. My privacy has been intruded upon.”

When asked if he would move, he said: “Would you buy my house?”

While corridor residents expressed sadness, the feeling among commuters was mixed. Many appeared chirpy and hoped the opening of the station meant fewer delays and bus replacements on the Dandenong line.

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@levelcrossings well i must admit a lovely smooth trip over the new skyrail at Noble Park. Might look like its made out of lego but it does the job 🖒

— jeff watkins (@jeffw0303) February 14, 2018

Construction staff work on the sky rail project.

There’s a sweetener as skyrail opens to passengers. Picture: Jason Edwards

Commuters tap on at Noble Park Station. Picture: Jason Edwards

Others reported sound had increased up to 3km away.

Local member and Premier Daniel Andrews was among the first Victorians to ride a train from the new Noble Park station.

After inspecting the raised platform, he said he expected angst from the community and other political parties would now subside with trains running ahead of schedule.

“This is a significant morning for this community and Victoria — after years of ­frustration, the level crossings are gone forever,” Mr Andrews said.

Commuters arrive at the new train station. Picture: Jason Edwards

The new Noble Park Station. Picture: Jason Edwards

When asked if he was happy with the community nicknaming the project “sky rail”, the Premier said they could call it what they like but “I call it getting it done”.

Crossings have now officially been removed from Corrigan, Heatherton and Chandler roads. Nine will be removed between Caulfield and Dandenong in total.

Opposition spokesman David Davis said it was a “monstrous” structure.

“It’s intrusive, it’s noisy. You can see the impact on the local community, it is massive,” he said.