A $1.5 million business case will investigate the duplication and electrification of the first 9.2 kilometres of Melbourne’s Stony Point railway line, if Labor wins at this year’s federal election.
The Stony Point line is a non-electrified single-track railway, extending 31 kilometres south from Frankston railway station, in Melbourne’s outer-southeast.
Frankston is the terminus of the Frankston line, an electrified, multi-track line which begins at the City Loop, and is serviced by a variety of electric multiple unit trains on the Metro Trains network.
Shadow transport and infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese announced on May 5 that Labor, if successful at the federal election on July 2, will provide the funding needed to investigate electrifying and duplicating the first portion of the Stony Point line, as far as Baxter station, 9.2 kilometres from Frankston.
“This vital project will be a game-changer for the whole region, and will entrench Frankston’s position as a new centre for jobs and growth,” Albanese said at a press conference at Baxter station.
“The funding will provide for the development of a full business case which can be submitted to Infrastructure Australia, consistent with Labor’s existing approach.”
Albanese said the project would build upon the $63 million Frankston Station Precinct Redevelopment being conducted by the Victorian Government.
“Labor’s partnership with the Andrews State Government in investing in the region is in sharp contrast to the Liberals’ approach of criticising from the sidelines,” he said.