The long-awaited extension of the Metro rail network to Melton will inch closer to reality with the state and federal governments announcing joint funding for design and preparation works.
The Allan and Albanese governments will on Monday announce $152.7 million, split equally and allocated in the upcoming state and federal budgets, to finalise designs and advance planning approvals to electrify the line to Melton, which will allow more frequent services and free up V/Line trains for other busy routes.
Former premier Daniel Andrews promised in 2018 that Labor would electrify the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines, which still operate overcrowded regional V/Line trains despite serving the fastest-growing urban corridor in Australia.
Infrastructure Victoria, the state’s independent adviser, has said electrifying the Melton line should be a top priority for the government, and is needed by 2030 to deal with demand from new suburbs between Sunshine and Melton, and alleviate traffic congestion on the Western Freeway.
The Allan government has not committed to a timeline for completing the project, but previously said it would not commence until the $4 billion Sunshine “Superhub” works were completed as a first step to building the Melbourne Airport Rail line, which will take until 2030.
The design and preparation works announced Monday – including securing power supply, site investigations and budgeting the final project – will start this year and be completed in mid-2027.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King said the works were “vital to informing future project investment decisions on the future Melton Line electrification”.
“The Albanese and Allan Labor governments are working together to upgrade our transport infrastructure and ensure our rail networks are reliable and resilient for Melbourne’s growing west,” she said.
