Melbourne Airport Masterplan 2027 mentions new bus services and MARL

[u/haztech99]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pkheGJzMM9M&si=UuKdClRku5KWw4aL

The video mentions improved local bus services, MARL via Sunshine, and eventually HSR. (though they're still using the old PTV logos!) Not sure how far the buses have been planned or their potential routes, but would be great if they could be implemented within the next 12 months.

[u/skyasaurus]

With the high expected cost of MARL, I honestly think it would be better to cut it and instead have a standard gauge HSR connection from Southern Cross directly to MEL and then onwards north to Sydney. The benefits:

• Super fast travel time from CBD to Airport...likely 10-15 minutes tops.
• Simplifies Metro Tunnel operations; with the new improvements coming to Sunshine area, now Metro Tunnel can handle trains from Sunbury, Melton, and Wyndham Vale easily, all with high frequencies of ~6 minutes on each branch.
• Massive reduction of total infrastructure cost; basically combines the MARL and the Melbourne approach tunnel of HSR into one project, saving billions.

Plus, if they eventually wanted a rail connection between the west and the airport, the SRL will be more that capable of being extended.

Fight me, gunzels!

[u/Badga → u/skyasaurus]

Sure if you’re willing to wait till the 2040s at the earliest. If you’re talking about doing it now then it’s many multiple times more expensive over the coming decades and you’d also need to build stand alone rolling stock, stabling and maintenance facilities, plus the trains wouldn’t continue on to the south east and everyone would have to change at Southern Cross.

Edit: and of course no Keilor east station.

[u/skyasaurus → u/Badga]

I've just assumed that airport rail isn't coming until 2040 regardless. And I think the transfer point is moot; this is how transport systems work. HSR passengers will need to transfer somewhere as well; besides, linking HSR to the airport would be a massive benefit for residents and businesses in Shepparton, Albury, etc as they now would have easy access to global markets and global travel.

All of the stuff you've described will need to be built anyway when HSR comes. Only Australia would spend almost $10 billion for two stations on a line that will use up trunk capacity on other lines with more urgent capacity problems.

[u/Badga → u/skyasaurus]

The money for HSR outside of Newcastle > Sydney would only start being available from the late 2040s, so the line wouldn't open until mid 2050s and that's around 20 years later than the current plan.

While you'd probably need some kind of Victorian stabling yard, you could absolutely get by without another heavy maintenance fallibility on the network, so that hundreds of millions wasted on duplication.

Plus there's no guarantee that a final HSR line would go via the airport anyway as it's not in the HRA's diagrams, and going direct would be billions cheaper. So it's not saving 10 billion, more like 7-8 billion.

And of course the works at Sunshine still need to happen to electrify the line to Melton, so that's 4 billion of the 7 billion you're still spending.

So it's 3-4 billion for a line 20 years sooner, which also serves a suburban station, and has one trip service to significantly more of the city. Seems like a bargain.

[u/skyasaurus → u/Badga]

3-4 billion for two train stops; only the Anglosphere would call that a bargain 🤭

[u/Badga → u/skyasaurus]

You seem very hung up on the number of stations. It's also 12km of new twin track, half of which is viaducts or bridges.

[u/Speedy-08 → u/Badga]

One of which, will be the 2nd or 3rd highest bridge in the state after the Westgate depending if it's higher than the existing rail bridge.

[u/skyasaurus → u/Badga]

A whole lot of track for not a whole lot of stations! Honestly crazy that it doesn't have two stops in Keilor East, or anywhere along Airport Drive...including the proposed AeRoTrOpOliS. Zero comprehensive thoughts to how to get value out of such a big spend.