Tara Murray
Major works along the Sunbury line are set to impact commuters and those living nearby the next couple of weeks.
The works which will be conducted between Albion and St Albans and then Sydenham and Calder Park are part of the Big Build project.
The works will include new communications and signaling facilities being installed, installation of light pole foundations and the replacing light fittings, the installing of fence foundations in the Watergardens Station car park and the removing redundant overhead foundations and services
Crews will be working around the clock to connect two brand new substations at Talmage Street in Albion and Willaton Street in St Albans into the network, as well as connect an upgraded substation at Diggers Rest as part of the works.
These works are expected to generate medium to high levels of noise and vibration and there will be generator-powered lighting used.
Construction vehicles are set to use Watergardens Circuit Road, Sydenham, Robertsons Road, Victoria Road in both Taylors Lakes and Sydenham, Calder Park Drive and Holden Road, Calder Park, Talmage Street and Sydney Road Albion and Willaton Street, St Albans.
There will be some parking spaces at Albion and Watergardens stations temporarily closed during this time.
The works will also impact trains on the Sunbury line during this time.
Buses will replace trains between Sunshine and Sunbury stations from 12.45am on February 19 until the last train on February 20.
Buses will replace trains parts of the Sunbury line and some days all of the Sunbury line from 8.30pm on February 21 to the last train on February 27 to enable these works to take place.
Buses will also replace trains on parts of the Sunbury line on each evening from February 28 to March 2.
The works are part of the Sunbury line upgrade which will be complete in 2023 – adding longer platforms, track upgrades and expanded train stabling to support the new generation trains when the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025.
As part of the upgrade, six new substations have now been built to boost power along the line – including the two at Talmage Street in Albion and Willaton Street in St Albans, another at St Albans Road in St Albans, and three more in Footscray, Delahey and Calder Park.
Each new substation will include indigenous plants and decorative screens to complement their local environments, which have been shaped by the local community’s future and connect passengers to the Metro Tunnel in 2025, whilst creating hundreds of jobs.
