Melbourne Airport rail link preferred route emerges

A SUPER-SIZED Sunshine station would be part of the planned route for Melbourne’s multibillion-dollar airport rail link, with an added bonus on the cards for southeast commuters.

A NEW Melbourne airport rail route will run through the western suburbs and via a super-sized Sunshine station to allow regional rail upgrades.

The Sunday Herald Sun has learnt that the federal and state governments are hopping on board the western alignment, with the positives of that option including cutting billions of dollars off the cost as well as allowing for a major regional cities boost.

Booming suburbs in Melbourne’s west, where population growth is among the highest in the country, would also benefit. But another bonus would be that passengers on southeast lines — Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston — could board an airport train at Caulfield station.

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This is because the favoured route would likely use the Melbourne Metro tunnel and existing Sunbury line to Sunshine, before turning off to run express to Tullamarine.

An announcement of details of the $10 billion plan is likely in September, with the final stages of a business case being developed.

The Turnbull Government has said it would provide up to $5 billion for the project but ­insists there is no preferred alignment, with detailed work being done on four options.

Some federal and state MPs have called for the line to go through Maribyrnong, where Commonwealth land is being sold and a new suburb will grow, but the two options being assessed would require extensive and expensive tunnelling.

Last week, Melbourne airport chiefs backed the plan to go west to Sunshine, via what is known as the “Albion East” route.

Questions have been raised about frequency of services using existing lines, and travel times from the CBD. But experts believe the trains could do the trip in under 30 minutes.

Last year, the Andrews Government said “untangling” regional services should be part of the plan, pointing to benefits for regional centres such as Geelong and Ballarat.

Both parties back a rail line but are yet to spell out how they would sequence its building and are waiting for a final route recommendation.

However, some sources believe planning and building the line could be completed around the same time or soon after the Metro tunnel, which is due to open in 2025.

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