An alignment running through Melbourne’s west looks the frontrunner for the city’s planned airport rail link route, with Jacinta Allan saying that the state government has set its sights upon integrating the project with its wider transport vision.
Allan, who recently attended a briefing session for the project alongside federal cities and urban infrastructure minister Paul Fletcher, said that among the priorities set by the Andrews government for the route was its ability to respond to population growth in Melbourne and regional cities, as well as its ability to integrate effectively with the ongoing development of network.
“We’re experiencing significant population growth to the north and the west of our city in particular. And then, beyond this, recognising there’s an opportunity to maximise connections into regional Victoria,” Allan said.
“And that’s why, also, in addition to this work that’s underway, our recent State Budget provided $50 million to look at faster rail connections into the region, starting with a focus on Geelong as the second largest city in Victoria, a major and important regional economic centre and how that can be better connected to Melbourne as part of this broader look at how we can best deliver a massive injection, a massive improvement to our public transport system through an airport rail link.”
Last November, premier Daniel Andrews had indicated that his government wanted the rail link to be more than “an expensive funnel for tourists and businesspeople between the CBD and airport”, but one that could help provide better connections between centres like Geelong and Melbourne.
A 2012 Public Transport Victoria (PTV) report explored four options for the rail route, which have been used as the basis for planning currently underway for the project’s preliminary business case: (1) an Albion East route utilising the existing Sunshine rail corridor and linking up to the CBD via the Melbourne Metro Tunnel; (2) a new direct tunnel alignment from the CDB to the airport via Highpoint; (3) an alignment utilising the Flemington Line via Milleara Rd, Highpoint and Flemington; and (4) and alignment using the Craigieburn line and travelling via Attwood, Coolaroo and Broadmeadows.
The Albion East route is the preferred route of PTV and the state government. The federal government had reportedly until recently favoured the direct tunnel route – which would, according to the state government, cost approximately double the Albion East route – as it would incorporate 127-hectares of Commonwealth land at Maribyrnong near Highpoint shopping centre planned for development.
However, according to a recent Herald Sun report, the federal government has come around to the state’s view, and is now “hopping on board the western alignment”. Tullamarine Airport’s operator, Australian Pacific Airports Corporation, has also announced that this would be, in its view, the best option.
“For us, we’re looking at how to safeguard a rail to be able to extend beyond the airport or to be able to extend the network to the west,” the airport’s chief of parking and ground access told The Age.
“That’s why, for us, it looks like Sunshine would make sense to be the front running route because it has access to regional, it has access to the west where the major growth is.”
Minister Fletcher, speaking to the media after the project briefing session, kept his cards close to his chest regarding the Turnbull government’s position on route options.
“What the federal government wants to see is a detailed and rigorous assessment of the four potential routes. We got an update today on the work that the team of Commonwealth and Victorian government officials are doing on the preliminary business case, including the detailed assessment of the four potential routes,” Fletcher said.
“And so, what we want to see is an outcome based upon the detailed analysis and the merits of each route, before finally coming to a recommendation. That work’s underway and I look forward to that work producing an outcome and a clear recommendation to the two governments.”
Fletcher indicated that the decision on the route would be made by September 2018, when the project’s preliminary business case is expected.
“That’s what we’ve indicated for some time and certainly today’s joint briefing session to me and to Jacinta Allan as the Victorian State Minister has suggested that that work is on track to meet that time.”