Key station in Melbourne Airport rail plan to be built by 2031
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An artist's impression of the planned Keilor East railway station. (Supplied: Victorian Government)
A new train station that will eventually link Melbourne's west to the city's airport will be built by 2031, according to the Prime Minister and the Victorian government.
The state and federal governments will today announce that early work on a new 7.4-kilometre rail line from Albion towards the airport — via the new Keilor East station — will begin in coming weeks.
However, major construction on this second stage of the Melbourne Airport rail plan will not kick off until 2028.
The Keilor East station is due for completion three years later, but a timeline for a rail line between Keilor East and the airport itself is yet to be finalised.
In a statement, the federal and Victorian Labor governments said the line would connect directly to the Metro Tunnel and include a 500-metre rail bridge to carry trains over the Maribyrnong River.
It would be delivered alongside stage one of the Melbourne Airport Rail project — the $4.1 billion, six platform Sunshine Superhub.
The Victorian government has previously announced the long-awaited train line to the airport would be running by 2029, then 2033.
It has since gone quiet on a final completion date.
The new line would include a 500-metre-long rail bridge over Maribyrnong River, the Victorian government says. (Supplied: Victorian Government)
The project has faced a number of setbacks, including a dispute over where the station should be built and arguments between the airport and the state government over whether it should be built underground or above ground.
In July 2024, the airport backed down from its preference for a more expensive underground line in order to get the project moving.
In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Labor was "building Victoria's future, unlocking capacity to run more trains, more often, and ensuring we have a train line to Melbourne Airport".
Premier Ben Carroll said Melbourne Airport was "getting on and delivering" a direct rail link to the airport.
The Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority have released a blueprint detailing the stages involved in the prospective Melbourne Airport railway line. (Supplied)
In 2023, then-Mooney Valley mayor Pierce Tyson said the community desperately needed the new Keilor East railway station, describing the delays as "deeply distressing".
"They have been waiting for many decades for this announcement and for this project to finish," he said at the time.
Today's announcement states that work will soon begin on site investigations, procurement and development works for stage two of the airport rail plan, with community engagement and early designs to start next year.
The prospect of a rail link to the airport has been in discussion for at least 62 years, but has been beset by decades of delays.
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