Regional Rail Link project
The Regional Rail Link (RRL) was a project to build a 47.5-kilometre (29.5 mi) length of railway through the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, the main aim of which was to separate regional V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong services from the electrified Melbourne suburban services, thereby increasing rail capacity and reliability. The project involved the building of an extra pair of tracks from Southern Cross station to Sunshine, parallel to the Western line, and a new double-track line from Deer Park, which joins with the Warrnambool line west of Werribee, near the site of the former Manor railway station. New stations were built at Tarneit and Wyndham Vale, while West Footscray and Sunshine stations were rebuilt. Additional platforms were built at Southern Cross and Footscray stations, and two level crossings near Sunshine were replaced by grade separations. The most used station before its construction, North Melbourne, was excluded from the project despite being the main connection hub for regional travellers not needing to go all the way to Southern Cross, and now requires regional rail link customers to change at Footscray.
Route of the Regional Rail Link in orange | |
| Location | Melbourne |
|---|---|
| Proposer | Government of Victoria |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Railway |
| Cost estimate | $3.65 billion |
| Start date | July 2009 |
| Completion date | June 2015 |
| Stakeholders | Government of Australia (major funding partner) Government of Victoria (minor funding partner) V/Line (operator) Metro Trains Melbourne Train travellers on Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat lines |
| Opponents | Fair-go for Footscray Rail Residents |
The project was managed by the Regional Rail Link Authority, on behalf of the Victorian Government, and, at the time, was the largest transport infrastructure project being undertaken in Australia. Construction commenced in 2009 and was fully completed in June 2015, with the opening of the section of track from Manor junction to Deer Park West junction.
According to the 2012 PTV Network Development Plan, by December 2032 the RRL will be part of an electrified line from Grovedale, Geelong to South Yarra railway station, with a branch line to Avalon Airport, thereby integrating the Geelong line into the metropolitan system.