APA Issue 2, 2021
ON THE RIGHT TRACK A new A$10 billion rail link looks set to make travelling to Melbourne Airport quicker, easier and more environmentally friendly, writes Joe Bates.
W
hile few Asia-Pacific airports can boast high speed rail links like the ones at Frankfurt and Zurich airports in Europe, the region is no stranger to impressive train connections with Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Incheon, Shanghai Pudong and Tokyo Narita arguably boasting some of the fastest and most convenient. And they could soon be joined by Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) in Australia if long-awaited plans for a new rail link between the gateway and the city – and subsequently Victoria’s regional and metropolitan train network – finally come to fruition and construction work starts on the project in 2022. Talked about since the 1950s, the Melbourne Airport Rail link is still a few years off due to a targeted 2029 opening subject to relevant Victorian and Federal planning, environmental and other government approvals. However, at the time of going to press it has never been closer to becoming reality, with community and stakeholder engagement likely to provide key input into the project’s final planning and design. Part of Victoria’s Big Build, the plan is for trains to travel from Melbourne Airport (MEL) through to Sunshine Station, then into the Metro Tunnel and the heart of the Central Business District (CBD), before continuing on to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. For it to happen, dedicated new track will have to constructed along the existing Albion-Jacana freight corridor
32
between Sunshine and Airport West along with a new 550-metre long rail bridge across the Maribyrnong River. Backed by the state of Victoria and the Federal Government to the tune of A$5 billion each, supporters of the project note that for all passengers, Melbourne Airport Rail will provide: • Access to the entire public transport network including trains on the Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland lines with a single interchange • Direct access to MEL from 30 stations without the need to change trains, for passengers travelling from the CBD and the booming south-eastern suburb • A new premium station at Melbourne Airport with 10-minute services • Seamless travel to the heart of Melbourne’s CBD in under 30 minutes Australia’s Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher, said: “A global city like Melbourne with a major airport like Tullamarine needs a world class rail connection between the city and the airport.” He noted that the development of the “state-of-the-art connection” was expected to provide around 8,000 construction jobs. While Victoria’s transport infrastructure minister, Jacinta Allan, confirmed that the project will “give a direct connection for airport travellers into the heart of Melbourne CBD in under 30 minutes.”
