Sunbury MP Josh Bull and Transport Minister Jacinta Allan have pledged to remove the last two level crossings from the Sunbury Line from Diggers Rest by 2026.
The state government said removing the crossings would improve safety and ease congestion for more than 6300 vehicles crossing the tracks.
“The Sunbury line will join the Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston, Lilydale and Werribee lines in being level crossing free, transforming communities and changing the way people live, work and travel,” Ms Allan said.
The boom gates at the Diggers Rest level crossings, at Old Calder Highway and Watsons Road, can be down for up to 36 minutes during morning peak when 27 trains move through
The government said planning was underway to remove the level crossings at Calder Park Drive and Holdren Road in Calder Park by 2025.
“Early engineering assessments suggest the best way to remove both level crossings is by building road bridges over the rail line, to create better connections for people travelling around Diggers Rest and to the Calder Freeway and preparing the area for growth and development,” a government statement said.
“This work complements the recent level crossing removal at Gap Road, Sunbury where a new road underpass and rail bridge separating trains and cars is already unclogging a major bottleneck.”
Details: levelcrossings.vic.gov.au.
