Hopes for airport rail link dashed

Surging population growth in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs is being blamed for jeopardising plans for a rail link between the airport and the city.?

Passengers on the Sunbury and Melton lines are expected to increase four-fold within the next 15 years.

But the state government has been told it would need to spend billions of dollars on a new rail link between Tullamarine and the city.

Melbourne Airport has told The Age newspaper it needs a rail service within that time or traffic will continue to be funnelled onto the Tullamarine Freeway creating traffic gridlock.

The Melbourne Metro tunnel was designed to cater for an airport link by 2026.