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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Major works completed on $5.3bn Melbourne rail project

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An estimated $40 million-worth of infrastructure work was completed on Victoria’s Regional Rail Link over Christmas and new year.

Rail services have now returned to the Sunbury, Ballarat and Bendigo lines following lengthy closures at the end of December and beginning of January.

The $5.3 billion Regional Rail Link, which is being jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments, includes 90 kms of new track between Southern Cross station, in Melbourne’s Docklands, and West Werribee.

Australia regional link
Photo: Regional Rail Link.

The project will also see two new stations built at Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, along a new section of line between Deer Park and and Werribee, and the installation of a rail bridge over the Maribyrnong River.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese said: “Building the Regional Rail Link is a huge job, and it’s encouraging to see our construction teams maximising opportunities to work over the quieter holiday period.

“Regional Rail Link is a transformative project for Victoria, and will markedly improve the face of public transport in Melbourne’s west.”

Victorian Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said a combined peak workforce of more than 1,000 people were on site from Thursday, December 27, 2012, to New Year’s Eve, then again from Friday January 4 to the early hours of January 13, notching up over 230,000 hours to deliver over $40 million worth of infrastructure.

The project, which is set to be completed by 2016, has been designed to remove major bottlenecks from Victoria’s rail network.

Australia regional link 3
Photo: Regional Rail Link.

“The past few weeks have seen an enormous amount of construction carried out, including installation of sections of the new Albert Street bridge in Footscray and continued work to remove the Bendigo / Sunbury line level crossing on Anderson

Road, Sunshine,” said Mr Mulder.

“The construction teams also undertook bridge strengthening, track reconfiguration, conduit installation, extensive excavation, and construction works at Sunshine, West Footscray and Footscray railway stations.”

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