Frankston Line trains resume as construction progresses on $3B upgrades

Mentone Station, courtesy of the Level Crossing Removal Project.

On Monday trains returned to service on the Frankston Line in South East Melbourne, a week earlier than planned as Mentone Station also opened.

Works at Cheltenham and Mentone Stations and the Frankston Line are part of a $3 billion investment. The wider upgrades include 18 level crossing removals and 12 new stations.

These works have continued on a two month construction blitz throughout the pandemic with strict safety measures, supporting jobs and businesses.

Mentone Station opened two weeks early and Cheltenham is on track to open in mid-August.

Finishing touches on the stations, landscaping, and work on the 3.5 kilometre walking and cycling path between Cheltenham and Mentone will continue until late 2020.

More than 200,000 cubic metres of soil was excavated from the 2.1 kilometres of rail trenches built.

Around 1,700 workers have helped to construct the project with crews working around the clock to pour more than 15,000 metres of concrete, install nearly 7000 tonnes of steel reinforcing and lay 25,000 tonnes of ballast.

The Cheltenham and Mentone boom gates on three roads were removed and opened to the public in mid-June, improving travel times for the 38,000 vehicles that cross the line daily.

Further along the Frankston line, works are ramping up on the removal of five dangerous and congested level crossings and building three new stations at Edithvale, Chelsea, and Bonbeach with major construction to lower the rail line into a trench starting in 2021.

The Victorian Government will remove 75 level crossings by 2025, the Cheltenham and Mentone project takes the completed total to 38.

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