Works underway on the Suburban Rail Loop Airport Line

Works are underway at Keilor East, signalling the start of initial and early works for the highly anticipated Suburban Rail Loop Airport Line in Victoria.

The Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) will connect every major suburban and regional line to Melbourne Airport. For communities on the SRL line, it’ll mean a single, direct trip to the Airport. For passengers on our other suburban lines, it’ll mean no longer needing to travel into the city just to travel back out.

When completed, the SRL Airport Line will mean passengers can get from the CBD to the airport in around 30 minutes. More than 30 stations across Melbourne will have a direct connection to the airport via the Metro Tunnel, and passengers from most other stations in Victoria will only need to change trains once.

The first tranche of works on SRL Airport 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 for a new rail bridge over the Western Ring Road, taking trains north to the airport every 10 minutes and connecting more than 150,000 passengers in the City of Moonee Valley area to Victoria’s expanding rail network for the first time with a new station at Keilor East.

A construction consortium of FCC Construction Australia, Winslow Infrastructure and McConnell Dowell have 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.

The bridge will stand more than 50 metres above the river valley at its highest point, making it the second highest bridge in Victoria – second only to the West Gate Bridge.

A second construction consortium of John Holland, CPB, KBR and AECOM have been selected as the preferred contractor to deliver the Sunshine Systems Alliance works package to transform Sunshine Station, rebuild Albion Station, and build twin tracks between Sunshine and the Albion-Jacana corridor, including the elevated rail bridge.

These works will minimise the impact to residents and businesses and pave the way for major construction next year. The Victorian Government is investing $143 million to deliver the first stage of the Sunshine Precinct Masterplan.

The SRL Airport is expected to open in 2029.

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