The Suburban Rail Loop - Airport (SRL Airport) is a proposed rail transit service that will take passengers from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport to the CBD in less than 30 minutes, using Victoria's new High Capacity Metro Trains. The project will enable most Victorians to reach Tullamarine with just one interchange, while those in south-east Melbourne will be able to travel directly to the airport.
The SRL Airport’s anticipated route will travel through Sunshine in Melbourne’s west and utilise the Metro Tunnel in Melbourne’s CBD. The MAR will be integrated with the Suburban Rail Loop as part of the north-west section of the orbital loop planned for construction around the Melbourne CBD. The total capital cost of the Sunshine alignment was estimated to be between $8 and $13 billion.
The six major works packages proposed to deliver the project are:
- Airport Station Package
- Viaduct Package
- Corridor Package
- Maribyrnong River Bridge Package
- Sunshine to Albion Package, and
- Rail Systems Package.
The SRL Airport was previously referred to as Melbourne Airport Rail (MAR)
Key Dates
| Oct 2022 | Name Change to SRL Airport |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
| Victorian Government | |
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The Federal and Victorian Governments confirmed in November 2020 that they will each provide up to $5 billion for construction of the project. |
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Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| 2005 | The Victorian Government reserved land for a rail link to Melbourne Airport, which spurred off an existing freight corridor that runs between the Sunbury and Craigieburn lines. |
| Nov 2017 | In November 2017, the Federal and Victorian governments met with industry and formally commenced the business case study. |
| Jul 2018 | In the lead up to the November state election, the Victorian Government identified the Sunshine (Albion east) alignment as the Victorian Government's preferred alignment. |
| Sep 2018 | RPV called for Registrations of Interest (ROIs) for industry participants interested in being part of delivering MAR. ROIs were are being sought from designers, engineers, rail systems providers, rolling stock providers, investors, financiers, developers and other rail infrastructure providers. Industry proponents who do not participate in the ROI process are not precluded from bidding for work once procurement starts. |
| Dec 2018 | The Victorian Government announced that an Aurecon, Jacobs, Mott MacDonald Joint Venture (AJM JV) had been appointed as a technical advisor and KPMG as a commercial advisor for the project. The AJM JV is carrying out detailed investigations of infrastructure upgrades, costs and train requirements to deliver fast rail to the regions as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail Link for the Western Rail Plan. |
| Mar 2019 | Federal and Victorian Governments signed a Heads of Agreement document for the project. The agreement outlines how the two governments will cooperate on the project, including jointly progressing the business case for the project. The business case is expected to be finalised in 2020. |
| Nov 2020 | The Federal and Victorian Governments confirmed they will both commit up to $5 billion each for the project. |
| Dec 2020 | The Victorian Government commenced community engagement, with feedback to be provided by February 2021. |
| Jun 2021 | Along with the beginning of Expression of Interest process for the Sunshine to Albion Package, Rail Projects Victoria announced its intention to deliver MAR through a total of six major works packages. The five remaining packages were Airport Station Package, Viaduct Package, Corridor Package, Maribyrnong River Bridge Package, and Rail Systems Package. Rail Projects Victoria noted that the packaging structure was subject to scope changes and realignments. |
| Jun 2021 | Second phase of consultation began for the ongoing planning and design development process, closing on 6 September. Community feedback has been sought on key parts of the project, including Sunshine Station transport superhub, Albion overpass and station works, Bridge over the Maribyrnong River Valley, Bridge over the Western Ring Road (M80), and Shared use overpass in Sunshine North. |
| Jul 2021 | Rail Projects Victoria issued pre-qualification documents for the early works of Melbourne Airport Rail, closing on 4 August. A briefing was expected to be held on 9 August, with Request for Proposal phase commencing on 26 August. RPV announced that the contract award for early works is estimated for January 2022. |
| Sep 2021 | Rail Projects Victoria commenced the EOI process for the Maribyrnong River Bridge Package, closing on 19 October. RPV also announced the package will be delivered using an Incentivised Target Cost (ITC) procurement model. |
| Feb 2022 | Laing O'Rourke were announced as the preferred proponent for the program's early works package. |
| May 2022 | The 2022-23 Victorian Budget allocated $472 million in planned spending for FY2022-23, but no further profile or total costs revealed |
| May 2024 | The 2024-25 Victorian Budget flagged that progress on the project has stalled and it will be at least four years until main works get underway. |
| Mar 2025 | The Federal Government, Victorian Government and Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, committing to the delivery of the project, and to establish a Steering Committee comprising officials from each organisation. The project, which includes upgrading the Sunshine Station, is a proposed rail transit service from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport to the Central Business District. |
Sector
Rail
Procurement approach
Alliance |
Unconfirmed |
Location
Victoria |
Resources
Government resources
Melbourne Airport Master PlanScope Brochure
Community consultation page – Engage Victoria
