Passenger Rail, Market Sectors

Ballarat Line Upgrade nears completion

Melbourne’s Cobblebank Station in the outer west is now open, with services stopping at the station since Monday.

Deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development Michael McCormack said passengers along the line will experience greater reliability thanks to the 18 kilometres of new track duplication.

The new track between Melton and Deer Park West will enable extra services by providing allowing trains to pass each other along the Ballarat Line. Passengers between Melton and the city will also get two extra peak hour services.

“This is a huge step forward for Ballarat Line passengers, who will see even more benefits from the Ballarat Line Upgrade rolled out next year,” said McCormack.

The station opened after 23-days of intensive construction work, including upgrades at Bacchus Marsh and Ballan station, track and signalling works, safety testing and driver training.

“I thank the workers who have been out there day and night delivering these works so this wonderful new station can start taking passenger,” Victoria’s minister for transport infrastructure Jacinta Allan said.

The station was delivered as part of the half-a-billion-dollar Ballarat Line Upgrade, which also includes four major station upgrades, two new passing loops and new train stabling.

Major construction on the Ballarat Line Upgrade is on track to be finished by the end of the year, according to the government. A final works blitz will take place from Saturday 7 to Friday 13 December.

Following the completion of the major construction work, there will be a further period of disruption for commissioning and safety testing to bring the remaining infrastructure online and enable even more services to be introduced in 2020.

The $551.7 million Ballarat Line Upgrade is jointly funded by the federal and state governments as part of the $1.75 billion Regional Rail Revival Program.