Sunshine stoush could set back Melton trains by a decade, Labor says

An electrified Melton railway line could be delayed by more than 10 years if a $4 billion rail upgrade around Melbourne’s west is pared back, Victoria’s transport minister says.

A long-touted push to transform the area around Sunshine station into a rail “super hub” has become a key election issue in the battleground state, with the federal Coalition seeking to use the project to spruik its economic management and attack the Suburban Rail Loop, while Labor has accused the opposition of cuts.

Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams at Sunshine station on Wednesday.Credit: Joe Armao

Labor’s state government, which is co-funding and delivering the project, also says any changes to its scope will have consequences for Melbourne’s growing western suburbs.

The $4 billion Sunshine upgrade is now being treated as the first stage of the delayed Melbourne Airport Rail project, but it has been expanded by Labor to affect the entire rail network in the west.

Under the revised plan announced in February, the Allan government will bring forward $2 billion in Airport Rail funding while the Commonwealth will add another $2 billion on top of $5 billion already committed to a rail line out to Tullamarine.

The Coalition has pledged to pare back this “gold-plated” proposal, committing to deliver it within a total envelope of $13 billion across the entire Airport Rail project, split evenly by state and federal governments if elected at both levels.

A diagram of the Sunshine station upgrades. Credit: State government

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in February said the $4 billion promise showed Labor was serious about Airport Rail after it was delayed by up to four years, partly due to a stoush with the airport’s private owners about whether a station would be above or below ground.

However, the price tag has prompted questions about why the project is so expensive, particularly in a state where billions of dollars in construction overruns have hit Big Build projects such as the North East Link, West Gate Tunnel and Metro Tunnel.

To understand the Sunshine upgrade as proposed by Labor, it helps to think of the project as a level crossing removal or the transformation of a busy road into a freeway.

Sunshine sits at the meeting point of multiple regional and suburban rail lines coming from Victoria’s west, including 70 per cent of the V/Line network.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday spruiking the proposed Sunshine station upgrade with Premier Jacinta Allan.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The tracks around the station are like a busy traffic intersection where trains are sometimes forced to wait to get into the correct “lane” or reach the platform.

The Sunshine project aims to solve these problems by redesigning the network along a six-kilometre stretch of rail so that regional trains, suburban services and freight are kept on their own separate paths. Doing so will make room for 40 trains an hour.

This includes building a series of rail bridges that will steer trains onto the correct track without having to cut across the path of others. The Level Crossing Removal Project, which has been performing a similar task across 110 different Victorian intersections, is the department delivering the upgrade.

A new pair of tracks will also be built between Sunshine and West Footscray to make this untangling process more simple and add capacity for more trains. Sunshine station will be expanded, with two new platforms accommodating these tracks and receiving most V/Line routes.

Labor wants to transform Sunshine train station into a transport “super hub”.Credit: Joe Armao

By making these changes, V/Line trains will converge more simply onto regional rail tracks towards Southern Cross Station while suburban services from the airport, Sunbury and eventually Melton will funnel onto the same path directly into the Metro Tunnel.

V/Line services that are currently forced to skip Sunshine because of capacity constraints will all be able to stop at the station.

This is why it is being touted as a regional “super hub” where a passenger from Bendigo headed to Geelong would always be able to transfer trains without having to travel into the CBD.

Other improvements include the extension of high-capacity signalling, used for Metro Tunnel services, past West Footscray and out to Sunshine, allowing trains to run much closer together and more frequently.

An electrified Melton line will also have high-capacity signalling in sections. The project adds a connection point in the network that means suburban Melton trains can plug into the new system without significant further work around Sunshine.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie on the campaign trail this month with Peter Dutton, announcing the Coalition’s plans for airport rail.Credit: James Brickwood

The federal opposition’s plan for the precinct does not specifically include the Melton electrification, new track pair or rail bridges, but would preserve improvements for regional passengers outlined in the Airport Rail business case. This document proposed adding an extra platform for V/Line services.

Victorian Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams told The Age the disruptive nature of the project meant it needed to be done in one go, with Sunshine the most complex part of the network outside the CBD.

“It’s incredibly short-sighted. It will set the west back significantly ... You would be putting back Melton electrification by over 10 years,” she said.

“This is one of Australia’s fastest growing regions. You can’t plan for more services along that corridor, and the Wyndham Vale corridor as well, unless you do this work to make that happen.

“I don’t think westies who live on this side of town, whether it be in the regions or in the suburbs, deserve a half-baked option.”

The Victorian government first proposed the electrification of the Melton line in 2018, but since then, the region is yet to receive a firm commitment on when it would be delivered.

Infrastructure Victoria this year has recommended work on the project begin by 2030, warning the Western Freeway will be over capacity in the next five to six years, and crowding on peak-hour Melton trains will increase by 50 per cent between 2031 and 2041.

A Liberal spokesperson said there were serious questions around the $4 billion proposal and if elected the Coalition would “assess the business case, projected works, and the cost of the proposed Sunshine Station redevelopment to ensure infrastructure funds are being spent prudently”.

“The cost of upgrades at Sunshine station at present is being driven by the Allan government’s SRL gold-plated scoping requirements,” the spokesperson said.

“The Coalition will not progress the Suburban Rail Loop.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pledged to withdraw $2.2 billion in federal funds committed by Labor to SRL East, an underground rail line from Cheltenham to Box Hill.

Melbourne Airport Rail has been described as one part of the larger Melbourne-wide rail loop and was even rebranded SRL Airport by Daniel Andrews ahead of the 2022 state election. It is being managed by a different government agency.

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