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The Victorian government and Melbourne Airport have officially buried the hatchet over the proposed airport rail link, signing a new memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth.
The three parties have formally agreed to work together to complete the project, which is now able to move forward after the airport last year dropped its demand for an underground link and agreed to the state government’s preferred above-ground option.
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Senior officials from each organisation will form a steering committee to progress the project, with work having already begun last year on the interchange at Sunshine Station. It follows the prime minister earlier this month confirming an extra $2 billion in federal funding.
“Many Victorians have spent a lifetime hearing of a rail link to the airport, and today we are telling them that we will work together in good faith to get it done,” said federal Transport Minister Catherine King.
“We want to keep this project moving which is why we brought in an independent mediator, why we’ve been acting on his recommendations and why we’re investing to make it happen.
“MARL will enhance the resilience and reliability of the transport network, better connecting Melbourne’s growing population to where they live, work and play.”
Tracks will be reconfigured between West Footscray and Albion to make room for the rail link, which airport CEO Lorie Argus said will be progressed by all three sides in good faith.
“Airport rail will increase the transport options for our passengers and staff, and we are pleased to work with the Australian and Victorian governments to progress this project for Melbourne,” she said.
“This memorandum of understanding formalises the compromise we made in July last year to help airport rail become a reality.”
The rail link, which was last year confirmed to be delayed for at least four years, was the focal point of an extended spat between Melbourne Airport and the Victorian state government over the design, with the airport favouring an underground station and the government preferring an above-ground “sky rail” model.
The airport eventually capitulated on the design, saying in July it would support plans for an above-ground link after the federal government’s mediator, Neil Scales, sided with the state government.
The airport rail link will have three stations – the interchange at Sunshine, a new station serving Keilor East and the Airport West precinct, and the airport itself. Passengers will be able to travel straight through from the airport to the city.
