A deal has finally been struck for Victoria’s airport rail link - here’s how it’ll work

Melbourne will finally catch up with the rest of the nation as plans for the airport rail link are finally set to be put in motion, linking Victoria’s busiest rail corridors with the world.

Melbourne’s long-awaited $10bn airport rail link will take travellers from Tullamarine into the heart of the CBD in less than half an hour via the Metro Tunnel.

Daniel Andrews and Scott Morrison have finally struck an agreement on the design of the project and will contribute $5bn each to start construction in 2022.

The link is expected to be finished by 2029, enabling commuters to travel from the airport all the way along the Cranbourne/Pakenham line — Melbourne’s busiest rail corridor — without changing trains.

Turn-up-and-go services on new high capacity trains will run every 10 minutes.

Melbourne Airport rail journey times.

While no decision has been made on ticket prices, the Herald Sun understands commuters can expect a fare similar to the existing $20 SkyBus service, charged through myki.

A private consortium, including Melbourne Airport and Metro Trains, was told on Friday night the state and federal governments had rejected its $7bn contribution, which would have involved a new tunnel running through Melbourne’s inner west.

Instead, the airport link will connect to a new Sunshine super-hub — where commuters can change trains for Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo — and into the Metro Tunnel, which will open in 2025.

That means it will take 27 minutes to reach the new State Library station, 29 minutes to the Town Hall hub linked to Flinders Street Station, and 24 minutes to the research and education precinct in Parkville.

FAST RAIL TO SLASH MELBOURNE TO GEELONG COMMUTE

The Prime Minister said the “nationally significant project” would create 8000 jobs during construction.

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

The Premier said it was part of Victoria’s COVID-19 recovery plan to be revealed in next week’s state budget.

“We need a pipeline of jobs for Victorians looking for work now, and for those who will need jobs in the future,” Mr Andrews said.

The project will require several expensive flyover sections through Melbourne’s west, and some properties may have to be acquired near Sunshine station, which will be redeveloped to connect with regional lines.

Infrastructure authorities will also work with Melbourne Airport to design the location of the station as part of its ­expansion plans.

The state government had pushed to connect the project to the Metro Tunnel because it enabled easier trips to the suburbs. About 93 per cent of trips to the airport start at home, rather than in the CBD.

It will now take 42 minutes to travel between the airport and Caulfield, an hour to both Geelong and Monash, and 90 minutes to Ballarat.

“This will give Victorians the fastest, most direct trip to the airport through the Metro Tunnel which will deliver more trains, more often,” Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said.

All airport services will stop at Sunshine, although a decision is yet to be made about whether some will run express from there to the CBD.

Passengers on all City Loop trains will be able to connect to airport services at Flinders Street and Melbourne Central.

Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said: “For those in the southeast it will mean a trip to the airport without changing trains, and for others just one change.”

The full business case will be finalised in 2021 but it is understood both governments expect the project to cost about $10bn, with funding split 50-50.

Hugh McLaughlin at Southern Cross station. Picture: Rob Leeson

Deputy Prime Minister ­Michael McCormack said it would be “an important part of the economic road back” from the coronavirus crisis.

Train commuter Hugh McLaughlin, 23, said the link would be more “efficient”.

“The bus is a bit slow, so the train will definitely make it a bit quicker,” he said. “Definitely easier than a taxi, more efficient.”

WHY PRIVATE PROPOSAL WAS PARTLY KNOCKED BACK

A private proposal to build a rail link to Melbourne airport with a new tunnel to the CBD was partly knocked back because of concerns the state would have to stump up more cash further down the track.

Treasurer Tim Pallas on Saturday said his department believed there were additional costs that were not considered in the consortium’s bid, which would have involved private investors adding $7 billion to scale up the project and build a dedicated railway tunnel between Sunshine and the city.

It came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Daniel Andrews announced the chosen route for the $10 billion Melbourne Airport Rail Link, jointly funded by state and federal governments.

Mr Pallas said there were multiple reasons why the new rail connection, which will run through the Metro Tunnel and Sunshine Station, was chosen over the private offer but that costs had played a role.

“My department did not believe that the identified costs of the project were realistic,” he said.

“There was a very substantial additional cost in some of the things that had to be done but were not accounted for in the bid.

“They would ultimately have to be borne by the state and that was a very substantial number.”

“We really appreciate that they brought it forward, unfortunately we just couldn’t make it work.”

Premier Daniel Andrews said Melburnians on two of the city’s busiest railway lines, Cranbourne and Pakenham, would benefit from direct services to the airport when the project was completed.

“Every other metropolitan line will only have to do one change and they’ll find themselves at the airport,” he said.

“This is really important for jobs, for productivity, for congestion on our roads and fundamentally doing the things that we said we would do.”

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Originally published as A deal has finally been struck for Victoria’s airport rail link - here’s how it’ll work