In short:
Work on Melbourne Airport Rail Stage 2 will commence within weeks, with major construction starting in 2028. The project is moving again after years of delays, although the final airport connection remains without a completion date.
Progress Made On Pivotal Project
Work on the next stage of Melbourne Airport Rail is set to begin in the coming weeks, with a new rail line towards the airport precinct scheduled to open in 2031.
Site investigations, procurement and development work will begin on Stage 2, which will build 7.4 kilometres of new rail from Albion and a 500-metre rail bridge over the Maribyrnong River.
The line will run alongside the existing Jacana freight corridor and connect directly with the Metro Tunnel.
Early designs and community consultation are expected in 2027 before major construction begins in 2028.
Years Behind Original Timeline
The project was originally expected to carry passengers to Melbourne Airport from 2029, before the timetable collapsed and works were put on hold in 2023 amid a Commonwealth infrastructure review and a prolonged dispute over the design of the airport station.
Melbourne Airport eventually accepted the government’s preferred above-ground station option in 2024.
Melbourne has long been an outlier among comparable major international cities in having no passenger rail connection to its primary airport, despite decades of proposals for one.
Premier Ben Carroll has made Airport Rail his top infrastructure priority since taking office, representing a significant change in direction from the previous state leadership.
For a city of Melbourne’s size and international standing, renewed priority on an airport connection will be welcomed by many, although the project remains years behind its original timetable.
Airport Connection Remains Undated
Stage 2 still will not take passengers all the way to Melbourne Airport.
The final connection forms Stage 3, which is being considered by the Melbourne Airport Rail Steering Committee and will include an above-ground station in the airport precinct.
No construction or completion date has been announced for that stage.
The works will follow the $4.1 billion Sunshine Superhub project, scheduled for completion in 2030 as the first stage of Melbourne Airport Rail.
