Engineering, Passenger Rail, Safety, Standards & Regulation

Four more level crossing removals announced

Level crossing removal project. Photo: Department of Transport Victoria

Daniel Andrews has announced the four level crossings which will make up the next tender for removal, as part of the Victorian Government’s massive level crossing removal program.

Andrews wants to remove 50 level crossings over two terms in government. Over the weekend he announced the four crossings which will be added to the 19 already set to be removed in the first four years of his government:

  • Melton Highway in Sydenham
  • Abbotts Road in Dandenong South
  • Thompsons Road in Lyndhurst
  • Kororoit Creek in Williamstown

The Abbotts Road crossing was the site of a fatal collision in 2012, where a train collided with a truck resulting in a derailment and the death of a train passenger.

Three contracts have already been awarded for the removal of 10 total crossings in Victoria.

A consortium of Leighton Contractors, Aurecon and Hyder consulting holds one four-crossing contract, and a consortium of John Holland and KBR holds another four-crossing contract. An alliance of Laing O’Rourke, Fulton Hogan and Aecom has been selected as preferred bidder for the removal of two more crossings.

A pair of consortiums are also shortlisted for a 9-crossing contract along the Cranbourne-Pakenham line.

The contract announced this past weekend means a total of 23 crossings will be removed by 2019 under the government’s plans. The four-crossing contract will go to tender in 2016, after community consultation is undertaken.

“These level crossings are dangerous, congested and suffocate our train system,” Andrews said. “They are relics of the past and they need to go. We’ve already awarded more than a billion dollars in contracts for level crossing removals.

“After years of inaction, we’re getting on with it.”

In addition to the 23 crossing removals now set to be completed by 2019, the government has committed to get to work on a further eight crossings by 2018. Andrews announced the package of crossings along the Frankston line in November.

7 News | Level crossing overhaulA dangerous level crossing in Dandenong is set to be upgraded, three years after a deadly collision.7 News reporter Laurel Irving has the details.Latest from 7 News: http://yhoo.it/1HYefMw7 News video: http://yhoo.it/1V97pbWLatest news on Twitter: twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne

Posted by 7 News Melbourne on Saturday, November 28, 2015