More level crossings are to go as part of efforts to make for a better service on Melbourne’s Frankston Line
FIVE level crossings between Edithvale and Bonbeach are to be removed by lowering sections of the Frankston line into a rail trench.
According to project management, works are well underway in Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach, with crews making “great progress” in the rail corridor as they continue piling foundations for the rail trench walls and new stations and relocating utilities.
“Major construction will begin in mid-2021, when we will need to close Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach stations so we can dig the rail trenches and begin building the new modern station precincts,” management stated.
Trains are to run express through these stations until a two-month closure of the Frankston line beginning in spring – the project’s major construction blitz.
During this time, buses are to replace trains between Mordialloc and Frankston/Stony Point with temporary closures of level crossings.
All five level crossings will be gone at the end of this major blitz, while the three new stations will open in stages by the end of 2021.
Finishing touches, in 2022, will include landscaping, new open spaces and parking, and walking and cycling paths, part of more than 11 kilometres of new paths from Edithvale to Frankston.
The works are to be part of a $3 billion upgrade of the Frankston line, which will see 18 level crossings gone for good and 12 new stations built.