• Funding program Investment Road and Rail Program
  • Status In planning
  • Transport mode Rail
  • Expected start/finish TBD - Late 2033
  • Estimated project cost $10,000,000,000
  • Australian Government contribution $5,000,000,000
  • Local Council/Shire Brimbank City Council,Hume City Council,City of Maribyrnong,Melbourne City Council (City of Melbourne),Moonee Valley City Council
  • State VIC

Project description

The Melbourne Airport Rail Link will provide a rail service for passengers travelling between Melbourne Airport and the Melbourne CBD, via Sunshine station. The Melbourne Airport Rail Link will utilise the Melbourne Metro Tunnel, providing direct access to a range of train stations in the CBD.

Benefits

The Melbourne Airport Rail Link will provide 15 kilometres of new track from Melbourne Airport to Sunshine Station, and will use the under-construction Metro Tunnel to access Melbourne’s CBD. 

Passengers will travel between the Airport and the centre of Melbourne’s CBD in under 30 minutes without having to change trains.

It will improve connectivity to Melbourne’s north-west and will also support access to more affordable housing and land for commercial development, improving the availability of jobs locally. The project will improve connectivity across the city, including south east Melbourne, and between the city and regional Victoria.

The Melbourne Airport Rail Link will transport thousands of passengers each day, reducing congestion by encouraging mode-shift to rail and travel times for motorists, particularly those using the Tullamarine Freeway.

The project will support employment at Melbourne Airport, western Melbourne and the CBD.

During construction, the project will support up to 8,000 jobs.

Funding

The Australian and Victorian Governments are each contributing $5 billion towards construction of a rail link to Melbourne Airport. $70 million of the Australian Government funding commitment was used for the completion of the business case.

Timetable

Early works on the Melbourne Airport Rail Link commenced in late 2022. The Detailed Business Case was completed in late 2021.

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Project last updated:

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