A proposal to build and operate a private rail line from the city to Melbourne Airport at no cost to the public purse was rejected by the Andrews government despite being backed by Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM).
The 2015 plan was for a purpose-built, direct, fast-speed railway through Maribyrnong which would have offered baggage check-in at Southern Cross Station and 18-minute trips to Tullamarine.
A fully developed blueprint, put forward by a private consortium involving MTM and financial services giant IOOF, was never considered by cabinet. Instead, the idea was killed off by senior government representatives who made it clear that any future Melbourne Airport Rail Link (MARL) had to go through Sunshine.
The revelation follows allegations before the Big Build royal commission that doctored cost estimates were included in MARL planning to bake in Sunshine as the preferred route. It raises further questions about the integrity of Premier Ben Carroll’s priority project, which the Coalition is also committed to building along the Sunshine route.
The proposed private railway, which would have been completed years ago had it been green-lit by the state and federal governments, was dependent on an associated land deal where the consortium would be given development rights to create a new residential suburb at a disused defence site.
The Maribyrnong Defence Site, 127.8 hectares of riverside land just 10 kilometres from the CBD and previously used as a munitions factory, has been abandoned for 20 years.
The Age
