Melbourne Airport Welcomes Rail Link Announcement

Melbourne Airport Welcomes Rail Link Announcement​

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Melbourne Airport welcomes today's announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

Melbourne Airport Chief Executive, Lyell Strambi said: "An airport rail link for Melbourne is over 50 years in the making.

“We are excited that the Commonwealth and Victorian governments have come together to make this project a reality. Of course, this is just the first step and there remains a lot of detail to work through."

“Naturally we are disappointed that the Market Led Proposal put forward by the Air Rail Melbourne consortium has been rejected.

“However, we now look forward to working with the Victorian and Commonwealth governments to ensure the design of the airport end serves the needs of our guests and the wider Victorian community.”

Melbourne Airport has been a fierce advocate for rail infrastructure to the airport.

"International visitors to Melbourne expect rail transport from the airport. It is an expectation of a truly global city. Victorians too, have been crying out for an airport rail link as Melbourne continues its trajectory to be Australia's biggest city by population."

"We are fortunate to have plenty of room to grow on airport, with runway and terminal investment over the next 20 years forecast to service almost 70 million passengers by 2038. Our curfew free, 24/7 operations are a huge competitive advantage for Melbourne and Victoria.”

“This year has been unbelievably challenging for Melbourne, a city we are so proud to serve. This can be a transformational infrastructure project for our community, as we prepare to start the long road to economic recovery.”

Mr Strambi said Melbourne Airport would work closely with government through the details of the project in the coming months to understand how it will deliver against three core principles.

"To be successful the Melbourne Airport Rail Link needs to be fast, frequent and reliable. We look forward to working with government to see how these objectives will be met. We will work constructively to make sure the airport rail link delivers the best possible passenger experience.”

 

As someone who uses Melbourne Tullamarine Airport (MEL) each time I visit Australia it's always been inconceivable to me that the airport has no rail link; not even a tram link despite Melbourne as a city having one of the biggest tram networks in the world.

The main public transport conduit is the Skybus shuttle that operates from/to Southern Cross railway station on the edge of Melbourne's CBD. There are other bus routes to 'rural' Victoria towns such as Geelong.

Before the pandemic struck MEL was handling over 37 million passengers a year. There have been several false dawns with rail connectivity proposals. Let's hope that this time something materialises.