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Melbourne’s long-awaited Airport Rail Link will run long elevated tracks, or sky rail, through the city’s northwest suburbs.
The Victorian Government has confirmed that the design for the project will include a series of elevated tracks through Sunshine North, Keilor East and Airport West.
The rail link will also include bridges over several gorges and sections of the Maribyrnong.
Transport Minister Jacinta Allan confirmed that there would be elevated sections, but how much remains to be determined.
« There is a lot of engineering work going on and there are options to deal with high rails, especially over the parts of the network that cross parts of the Maribyrnong River, » she said.
« This is about finding the best way to get an airport rail link to Melbourne and Victoria. «
The Minister of Transport also confirmed that some properties along the route will be forcibly acquired.
« For every project, large and small, that may require acquisitions, we work very, very hard to minimize the number of properties we buy, » said Allan.
« A project of this size and scale will go through an extensive design and consultation process. «
The state and federal government each allocated $ 5 billion last month for the project, which is expected to cost up to $ 8. 000 jobs will be created when construction begins in 2022.
Passengers landing at Melbourne Airport will be able to catch trains to Melbourne’s business district every 10 minutes after the project is completed in 2029.
The Victorian opposition fears that the chosen design for the Airport Rail Link will lead to delays and overloading of regional services.
Secretary of Shadow Transportation Infrastructure David Davis says failure to give the city its own Sunshine railroad will affect the capacity of existing services.
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« The market-driven proposal, which the government appears to have rejected, would have added new and additional capacity in the form of tunnels, » he said.
« Those who would have come from Melton, Ballarat and Bendigo will have to take capacity off their lines to replace the Melbourne Airport Line. «
The opposition also said the 29-minute travel time from the airport to the CBD was too long.
« It’s not a fast rail link to the airport, it’s a slow train, » said Davis.
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AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time, 10 hours before GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
Rail connection to Melbourne Airport, rail traffic, Maribyrnong River
World news – AU – Melbourne’s airport rail connection with « Sky Rail » through the northwest of the city
Ref: https://www.abc.net.au
