The Sunbury Line will move a step closer next month to being able to run bigger and more modern trains, with 24-hour works to take place along the line in July.

Crews will descend on the line from 9pm on Friday 2 July for six days of round-the-clock construction, with trains returning to service on Friday 9 July. The work will coincide with school holidays, to reduce the impact on passengers.

Work planned during this time includes:

• Platform improvements at Middle Footscray, Watergardens and Sunbury stations
• Power upgrades at the Tottenham substation
• Work on construction and fit out of the new substation at Calder Park
• Installation of signalling equipment from the Maribyrnong River to Sunbury
• Work on substation upgrades at Holden Road, Diggers Rest and Jacksons Hill
• Installation of overhead line structures between Keilor Plains and Sunbury.

The Sunbury Line Upgrade will add more sections of track and longer platforms and improve train stabling to support the new generation trains, creating space for 113,000 more passengers in peak periods every week when the Metro Tunnel is operational.

The Sunbury Line Upgrade is due for completion in 2023, along with the Gap Road Level Crossing Removal Project, which has been brought forward by two years to get rid of Sunbury’s worst traffic bottleneck sooner.

Work will start on the level crossing removal in early July, with workers relocating underground services and removing a small number of trees alongside Gap Road and Station Street to make way for the start of major construction on the new road underpass later this year.

Gap Road/Station Street will be lowered under the existing rail line to preserve the heritage-listed Sunbury Station, to improve safety and ease congestion, especially when more trains run on the Sunbury Line in the future.  The project will include building a new shared path for pedestrians and cyclists.

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 is due to begin construction in late 2021.

Quotes attributable to Member for Sunbury Josh Bull

“The Sunbury Line Upgrade will transform public transport for the Sunbury community, with bigger, more modern trains giving passengers a more comfortable journey.”

“Once the Metro Tunnel Project is complete, communities along the line will have direct access to five new stations at key city locations like Parkville and St Kilda Road, with convenient connections to the City Loop and a future link to Melbourne Airport Rail.”