Malcolm Turnbull pledges $5b for Melbourne airport rail link
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged $5 billion for a Melbourne airport rail link.
Photo: Alex EllinghausenPrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is set to promise $5 billion for a Melbourne airport train line.
Mr Turnbull wrote to Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday suggesting a 50-50 funding arrangement with the state, using the $2 billion Victoria will get from selling its share of the Snowy Hydro scheme, according to report in the Herald Sun.
A business case is under way to examine options for the best route for the rail link and is expected to be completed by September.
The rail link will likely offer both an express service and services stopping at current or new stations.
It is estimated 60 million passengers a year will use the airport by 2030.
Will Melbourne soon get a rail link to the airport?
Photo: Craig AbrahamThe federal government will on Thursday reveal four options for a link, including above-ground and underground tracks.
Its preferred routes through Maribyrnong would link to Highpoint shopping centre and Victoria University, and open up a major new suburb of 6000 homes on former defence land.
The Premier promised last November that construction on the rail link would be under way within the next decade, but the government has argued a train can’t run until the Metro Tunnel opens in 2026.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has backed the link.
AAP