The excavators are digging in Melbourne’s Keilor East, signalling the start of a massive program of initial and early works for the project.
The first tranche of works includes the removal and relocation of six AusNet electricity transmission towers between the Western Ring Road (M80) and the existing Albion-Jacana freight corridor.
New towers will create space to build a rail bridge over the Western Ring Road, taking trains north to the airport every 10 minutes.
The relocation of the AusNet towers is taking place alongside a broader early works package that will move or protect up to 250 key utilities – including powerlines, gas mains, communications, and sewer and water supplies.
Sunshine Masterplan
The Government is also investing $143 million to deliver the first stage of the Sunshine Precinct Masterplan.
The Station Place package will include station enhancements, a new bus interchange, shared vehicle and pedestrian pavements, more open-space and the creation of future development sites, making it easier to deliver further stages of the masterplan in years to come as the community continues to grow.
A construction consortium of FCC Construction Australia and Winslow Infrastructure has been selected as the preferred contractor to deliver key parts of the project, including the approximately 550 metre twin track rail bridge over the Maribyrnong River Valley.
The bridge will stand more than 50m above the valley at its highest point, making it the second highest bridge in Victoria after the West Gate Bridge.
A second construction consortium of John Holland, CPB, KBR and AECOM has been selected as the preferred contractor to deliver the Sunshine Systems Alliance works package.
These works will transform Sunshine Station, rebuild Albion Station, and build twin tracks between Sunshine and the Albion-Jacana corridor, including the rail flyover. They will also deliver signalling systems along the entire Melbourne Airport Rail corridor.
The remaining works packages are at various phases of procurement. The Corridor Package, which will include the construction of the new station in Keilor East and the duplication of twin tracks near the M80 Western Ring Road, has recently concluded the Expression of Interest (EOI) phase, with consortiums to be short listed in 2023.
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