Work crews will descend on the Sunbury Line this week for nine days of around the clock track, power and signalling improvements as part of the line’s $2.1 billion upgrade.

The massive project, due for completion in 2023, is preparing the Sunbury Line for bigger, more modern trains that will run on the line when the Metro Tunnel opens two years later.

Works start at 9.00pm on Friday 26 February, with buses replacing train services between Sunbury and North Melbourne until Monday 8 March, when trains return to the line.

The project includes power upgrades and platform extensions along the length of the Sunbury Line, and new wheelchair boarding platforms at eight stations.

Train stabling is also being expanded at Watergardens and Calder Park to accommodate bigger trains creating space for 113,000 more passengers in peak periods every week when the Metro Tunnel is operational.

Major works over this period will include:

• Works for connecting the Sunbury Line to the Metro Tunnel at South Kensington, including laying new track and installing overhead structures and wiring.
• Upgrading and replacing overhead structures, wiring and cabling between Footscray and Sunbury
• Installing new, modern signalling equipment between Footscray and Sunbury that will support the new, bigger trains
• Continuing station platform upgrades at West Footscray, Tottenham and Sunshine and starting platform upgrades at Keilor Plains, Watergardens and Diggers Rest
• Installing retaining walls and culvert extension at Sunbury.

The Sunbury Line Upgrade will give better access to employment, education, health and other opportunities to the booming population of Melbourne’s north-west, as part of an end-to-end Sunbury to Cranbourne / Pakenham line with the Metro Tunnel and five new stations at its centre.

The project is being undertaken alongside the Gap Road Level Crossing Removal Project, which has been brought forward by two years to improve safety and ease traffic congestion in the heart of Sunbury.

Sunbury passengers will also benefit from the Car Parks for Commuters – Sunbury Station Upgrade project being delivered by the Victorian Government and Hume City Council, which will add more than 300 new commuter car spaces to the station and improve access and bike parking.

When the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025, train services on the line will be monitored at the state-of-the art Sunshine Signal Control Centre, which is now in its final stages of construction.

The centre’s control rooms will be fitted with high-capacity signaling equipment to provide a dynamic, real-time overview of train movements across the network.

Quotes attributable to Member for Sunbury Josh Bull

“The Sunbury Line Upgrade will be part of a massive transformation of greater Melbourne’s rail network, with next-generation trains and high capacity signaling on the line to support more frequent and reliable services.”

“Once the Metro Tunnel is operational, train passengers across Melbourne’s north west will have direct access to five new stations at key locations, with seamless connections to the City Loop and a link to the future Melbourne.”