page_title: Melbourne Airport rail link
section_title: Preferred route
hierarchical_section_title: Melbourne Airport rail link / Planning / Preferred route
caption_attribution_description: English: V/line platforms.
context_page_description: A rail link to Melbourne Airport has been proposed in multiple forms at various times in the history of the airport. Most such proposals have been for a heavy rail line between Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine and the Melbourne CBD, often as an integrated component of the Melbourne rail network. Some plans, however, have utilised alternative forms of mass transit or suggested a segregated and dedicated public transport link to the airport. Relieving traffic congestion and creating better access to the airport are frequently cited as reasons for the development of the link. Businesses that would be negatively impacted by an airport rail link include Transurban, whose CityLink toll revenue would be affected, and Melbourne Airport, whose revenue from car parking would be reduced.
  In 2018, the Victorian government announced its intention to proceed with one such proposal, a 27 km link via Sunshine. A preliminary business case was completed later that year, and in early 2019, the federal government agreed to partially fund the project.
context_section_description: The Victorian State government has committed to the Sunshine route, with the release of its Strategic Assessment of the route in July 2018. The Federal government under Malcolm Turnbull had pushed for the direct tunnel route through Maribyrnong, as it proposed to redevelop the unused Defence site along the Maribyrnong River into a new residential area and connect the airport to the nearby Highpoint Shopping Centre. In 2019, however, both the federal and state governments backed the Sunshine route as part of their funding commitments to the project.
  Current planning will explore a number of remaining questions about the route: including how it will interact with the under construction Metro Tunnel, the planned Suburban Rail Loop, and potential faster rail to Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. The State Government has indicated that new Sunshine to CBD rail capacity, built as part of the Airport Rail Link, could be used by new, faster train services to Geelong and Ballarat. This would be delivered alongside new, electrified Metro lines to Melton and Wyndham Vale as part of the Government's Western Rail Plan. Planning for regional fast rail will take place alongside the business case development for the Airport Rail Link. This proposal builds upon a plan by the Rail Futures Institute to use the Airport Rail Link to separate regional and metro services, and deliver faster regional rail.
caption: Sunshine railway station in Melbourne's west would be rebuilt as part of the current airport rail link plan
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