Stations on the Upfield line set to close for three months as four level crossings are removed
A major section of a train line in Melbourne’s north will be shut down for three months in a construction blitz set to remove four level crossings.
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Commuters in Melbourne’s north will be hit with a three-month shutdown of the Upfield line as four level crossings are removed.
But passengers will have to wait to hear exactly when the disruptions will hit with the dates yet to be revealed.
The closure will likely be between Coburg Station and North Melbourne Station in the second half of next year.
In a massive construction blitz, 90 per cent of the work will be carried out in 93 days.
The state government today announced that an alliance of John Holland Group, Kellogg Brown & Root and Metro Trains Melbourne would remove the level crossings at Bell St, Munro St, Reynard St and Moreland Rd.
New stations will also be built at Coburg and Moreland.
Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the boom gates at Bell St — the busiest west-east arterial in the northern suburbs — were down 25 per cent of the morning peak.
“It is not just locals who want this level crossing gone,” she said.
“People right across Melbourne get frustrated every time they travel through the northern suburbs and get stuck here.”
Pedestrian crossing lights along the Upfield Bike Path will be synchronised with the nearby Sydney Road lights to improve traffic and bike flow.
Ms Allan defended the three-month rail shutdown
“This is a very tight and narrow part of the rail network,” she said.
“We have had to do a lot of careful planning, not just about how we remove the level crossings … but also a lot of careful planning as to how you get in and out and do the work as quickly as we possibly can.
“Yes, that 93-day occupation is a longer period of time but we can also isolate this section of track to minimise the passengers along the Upfield corridor during this period of time.”
The Eastern Bloc cafe, close to the Bell St level crossing, is expecting to be “massively” impacted during the lengthy closure.
But cafe manager Resham Acharya said he hoped it would bring long-term benefits.
“We have heaps of regular customers catching the train, and if they are going to shut the train it’s going to effect us massively,” he said.
“I hope (once completed) there will be big park and people from different areas can come here, sit down and have a coffee.”
It was revealed earlier this year that 2.5km of sky rail — up to 11m high — would be built to remove the four level crossings.
No homes will be compulsorily acquired but impacted residents will have the option of selling their property voluntarily.
The state government would not reveal how many owners had inquired about offloading their property.
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Designs for two MCGs-worth of new open space show a new civic plaza, bike path and separate walking track will be built along the previous rail corridor.
Other suggestions have also included a cafe and dog park.
Level Crossing Removal Project chief executive Kevin Devlin said that planners had “done everything we can” to preserve mature trees in the area, after community concern about their removal.
“We have done everything we can,” he said.
“Unfortunately big infrastructure projects do require us to remove to vegetation.
“Whether it’s rail over or rail under we do have to remove that vegetation.”
Construction on the level crossings removals will start next year.
The boom gates will be gone by the end of 2020 with new open space around the stations opened the following year.