Melbourne Airport Rail project is moving ahead, with Stage 1 works now centred on Tottenham and the wider Sunshine corridor. The first package covers a complicated part of Melbourne’s rail network, where future airport services will need to sit alongside metro, regional and freight services.

Melbourne Airport Rail project advances at Sunshine
Photo: Victorian Government

Melbourne Airport Rail project reshapes Sunshine Station

The first phase will reconfigure six kilometres of railway between West Footscray and Albion. It will also deliver two additional platforms at Sunshine Station, where major upgrades are planned to support a much larger operating role, as outlined on the Victoria’s Big Build project page.

The aim is to turn Sunshine Station into a major rail superhub. Once complete, the station will be able to handle up to 1,000 trains a day, including future airport services and electrified trains running to Melton. Railway Supply has also previously covered the Sunshine superhub plans as part of the wider Melbourne Airport Rail project.

Work between Tottenham and Sunshine stations has so far included soil testing, locating underground utilities and assessing existing rail infrastructure. Activity across the corridor is expected to increase next month as planning for the next construction steps develops.

Those investigations will help shape plans for track changes between Tottenham and Sunshine. They will also support the planned construction of new rail flyovers and a new Tottenham Station.

Tottenham Station relocation prepares the corridor

Tottenham Station will be moved about 20 metres north of its current location. The relocated station will sit on the realigned Sunbury Line corridor and continue to provide access to Sunbury services running through the Metro Tunnel.

The project also includes two new rail flyovers and the removal of the Tottenham freight crossover. Together, these works will permanently separate metro, regional and freight services, while creating room for future airport rail tracks.

At Sunshine, utility relocation works have already started as the station precinct prepares for expansion. One part of this work involves shifting a major telecommunications line beneath the Sun Crescent station car park.

New platforms and links at Sunshine Station

At Albion Station, a major jet fuel pipeline is also being relocated. According to Victoria’s Big Build update on the pipeline works, this relocation will clear the way for new platforms serving the Geelong and Ballarat lines at Sunshine Station.

The same pipeline work will also enable construction of an expanded station concourse, a new station entrance and a landscaped forecourt. It will also allow a new pedestrian and cycling connection over the rail line, strengthening access across the corridor.