{"id":57976,"date":"2024-06-02T11:45:26","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T01:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=57976"},"modified":"2024-06-02T11:45:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T01:45:35","slug":"airport-rail-brawl-coming-to-a-head-with-mediator-on-track-to-deliver-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=57976","title":{"rendered":"Airport Rail brawl coming to a head with mediator on track to deliver report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A solution for the Melbourne Airport Rail standoff could be delivered within weeks despite the Victorian government and airport owners not meeting with mediators in the same room to hash out their differences over the $13 billion project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Danny Pearson on Tuesday declared there was no guarantee a compromise would be reached before the 2026 election, even though the mediator\u2019s report is imminent.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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An artist\u2019s impression of a proposed elevated rail station at Melbourne Airport. The project remains in limbo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Former Queensland transport department director-general Neil Scales, who was in April appointed by the federal government to mediate the dispute, has met with the airport once and met separately with Victorian government officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the parties have not been in a room together to hash out a solution, Scales\u2019 final report will be delivered within weeks, Commonwealth transport bureaucrats told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report, which is expected to include \u201coptions on the ways forward with the project\u201d, would then be provided to federal Transport Minister Catherine King, along with her department\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe question is whether it\u2019s affordable, and if so, at what price and at what price does an underground option become prohibitively expensive? That\u2019s the question that everyone\u2019s been grappling with,\u201d department secretary Jim Betts told the estimates hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state budget<\/a> this month revealed the rail project would be delayed at least four years<\/a>until 2033 because of the government\u2019s dispute with the airport, which wants the new station to be built underground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Allan government<\/a> argues an underground station would cost at least $1 billion more, take almost two years longer to deliver and wouldn\u2019t benefit the surrounding businesses the way an above-ground station would.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A solution for the Melbourne Airport Rail standoff could be delivered within weeks despite the Victorian government and airport owners not meeting with mediators in the same room to hash out their differences over the $13 billion project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":38115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,513,163],"tags":[993,8],"class_list":["post-57976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-melbourne-airport","category-rail-industry-news-australia-new-zealand","tag-melbourne","tag-victoria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t