The Federal and Victorian Governments have each committed $5 billion to the long-awaited Melbourne Airport Railway Link and announced the route for the project that will allow passengers landing at Melbourne Airport to take trains to the heart of the CBD every 10 minutes once the Melbourne Airport Rail Link is completed in 2029. 

The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said would begin construction in 2022 and support up to 8,000 jobs. Passengers along the busy Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in Melbourne’s south-east will be able to board a train and ride without changes to the airport, while other metro lines will require one swap inside the Metro Tunnel, which is due to be completed by 2025.

Melbourne Airport Railway link will also see ten-minute turn-up-and-go services running from Melbourne Airport through the heart of the city, providing direct connections to key sites including Melbourne University, the Parkville medical precinct, Melbourne Central and Flinders Street stations, and the St Kilda Road business precinct. Melbourne’s west will have direct airport access via a single interchange at Sunshine Station, or Footscray Station for Werribee and Williamstown line passengers. Travelers on all city loop trains will also be able to connect to airport trains at Flinders Street and Melbourne Central.

The government said that the project provides the best possible integration with the existing network and paves the way for future improvements to regional and western metropolitan lines and the Melbourne Airport Rail will use the new fleet of High Capacity Metro Trains – the biggest and most passenger-friendly trains on Victoria’s train network.  “The airport link is a nationally significant project and Victorians have been waiting a long time for it to become a reality. With construction to start in 2022, the agreement will support up to 8,000 jobs during construction,” the Prime Minister said.