Election 2025: Peter Dutton to axe federal rail funds and prioritise Melbourne airport link

Billions of dollars of promised Suburban Rail Loop funds will be axed by the Coalition, with Peter Dutton pledging to instead to pour $3bn into Melbourne’s long-awaited airport rail link.

Artist’s impression of the Melbourne airport rail link station.

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Billions of dollars of promised Suburban Rail Loop funds will be axed by the federal Coalition, with Peter Dutton pledging to instead team up with the Victorian Liberals and Nationals to pour $3bn into Melbourne’s long-awaited airport rail link.

The Albanese government has so far provided the Victorian government with just $2.2bn of the $11.5bn of federal funds it is hoping to obtain for the first part of its controversial SRL project, the Suburban Rail Loop East, which is estimated to cost $34.5bn.

However, the Opposition Leader is set to announce he will cancel the $2.2bn of federal funds should the Coalition win the election, a move that would leave Victoria’s Allan Labor government with an even bigger funding hole for its signature project.

In a bid to appeal to Victorian voters, Mr Dutton will instead invest $1.5bn in the Melbourne Airport Rail, which will take federal funding for the project, which is already at $5bn, up to $6.5bn.

Should the Victorian Coalition, which is currently in opposition, win the November 2026 state election, it would match the federal Coalition’s $1.5bn commitment with state funds.

The Coalition said the Melbourne Airport Rail Link would provide “reliable 30-minute travel” from the city’s CBD and carry 6600 passengers per hour.

“The Airport Rail Link is a long overdue piece of transport infrastructure vital to the future growth of Melbourne, and a Coalition government at both levels of representation will make it a reality,” it said. “Melbourne deserves a world-class gateway and we can provide that in partnership with Melbourne Airport and a willing Victorian government by delivering a first-class rail connection to the CBD.”

The Coalition said Sunshine Station upgrades would be delivered within the scope of the $3bn joint commitment with the Victorian opposition.

Mr Dutton’s pledge follows Anthony Albanese’s announcement last month that his government would make an extra $2bn investment in the airport rail, which federal Labor said took its funding commitment for the project to $7bn. The Prime Minister said the extra $2bn would be allocated for building platforms and a dedicated spur line at Sunshine Station in Melbourne’s west, which he said would become a “hub for ­regional rail services connecting to the airport”.

The federal Coalition said delivering the airport rail link was its “first priority” and labelled the Suburban Rail Loop an “unfunded, cruel hoax of a project”.

Mr Dutton will announce the Coalition will reinvest every dollar of federal funding for the SRL into other Victorian road and rail projects, such as extending the Frankston line to Langwarrin and Baxter, and duplicating Donnybrook Road and planning for the extension of the Upfield line in Melbourne’s north.

The Coalition will also commit a further $50m to deliver “individual plans for future public transport options in Melbourne’s eastern and western suburbs”.

“These studies will collaborate with local councils and communities and be delivered within the next term of government,” the Coalition said.

“Our plans will map out a vision for public transport to address congestion in Melbourne’s suburbs which have been impacted by Labor losing control of the migration program by bringing in 1.8 million people over five years.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has vowed to carry on with the Suburban Rail Loop, despite questions about its funding and Australia’s independent infrastructure watchdog flagging serious concerns about the cost and benefits of the project.

“We have listened and acted on Infrastructure Australia’s damning assessment of the Suburban Rail Loop, a project that everyone knows would never be delivered,” the Coalition said.