Sibanengi Dube
More than 300 temporary car spaces are now available to commuters at Tottenham Station as work continues to ramp up on the Andrews Labor Government’s Melbourne Airport Rail project.
Extra car spaces have been built at Rupert Street in Tottenham to reduce impacts on rail passengers while car parks at Sunshine and Albion stations are closed for Melbourne Airport Rail works.
Traffic flow will be carefully managed to help pedestrians, passengers, residents, vehicles and construction machinery. New lighting and CCTV has also been installed in the car park to ensure commuter safety.
Member for Footscray Katie Hall said, the car spaces in Tottenham will reduce the impact on commuters and residents.
Project workers recently completed a 60-hour construction blitz in and around Sunshine to prepare for construction of a new elevated rail bridge that will take trains over Ballarat Road and to the airport. Works have also begun on the new second pedestrian concourse at Sunshine Station.
“Sunshine Station will be pivotal to the project, which will better connect the west to the regions and the world,” said Laverton MP Sarah Connolly.
Work in the rail corridor was completed in March with drainage and national freight tracks of Albion station realigned to make way for new airport rail tracks.
The project will transform the station into a transport super-hub, connecting the airport, CBD, and Victoria’s key regional centres including Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.
Other work included laying the foundations for the new airport rail tracks, moving utility services to make way for the new infrastructure, and installing communications, power and service cables.
When Melbourne Airport Rail opens in 2029, passengers will be able to change to airport services at Sunshine Station and catch a train to the airport without having to travel in and out of the CBD.
The journey from Sunshine on dedicated tracks to the new, premium Melbourne Airport Station will be around 11 minutes.
