Keilor East railway station

Keilor East railway station is a planned railway station as a part of the Melbourne Airport railway line that will serve the suburbs of Keilor East, Keilor Park and Airport West. Initially scheduled to open in 2029, the project is facing extensive delays, with completion now expected from 2033.^[1][2]

Keilor East
Planned PTV commuter rail station
General information
Location	Near border of Keilor East, Keilor Park and Airport West (exact location to be confirmed) Australia
Owned by	VicTrack (projected)
Operated by	Metro Trains (projected)
Line(s)	Melbourne Airport
Platforms	2
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Planned
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
History
Opening	2033 (planned)
Electrified	1500 V DC overhead
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Sunshine towards Cranbourne or East Pakenham Melbourne Airport (under construction) Melbourne Airport Terminus

History

The Melbourne Airport Rail project plans to build a new Metro line through the north-west of Melbourne using the rail reservation currently used by the Albion-Jacana freight corridor. Since the announcement of the project, local councils have advocated for a station to be added to serve nearby suburbs, arguing the area is currently underserved by public transport.^[3]

In September 2022, the Victorian Government announced the project would add a station on the border of Keilor East and Airport West, connecting 150,000 people to the metropolitan rail network.^[4][5] According to media reports, the Government did not plan to include the new station in the initial project, but after local advocacy and the public intervention of Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll in parliament, the project's business case was supplemented to add the station.^[6]

The Government's supplementary business case argued delivering the station at the same time as the link would save 15% compared with building the station after the line was operational.^[7]

Platforms and services

The station will be situated along the Melbourne Airport rail link, as part of two planned stations along the line. Trains will run from Melbourne Airport to Keilor East before continuing to Sunshine, through the Metro Tunnel and then along the Pakenham/Cranbourne lines.^[8] Services are planned to run every ten minutes all-day.^[4]

Trains will take 6 minutes to travel to Melbourne Airport, 8 minutes to Sunshine, and 27 minutes to the Melbourne CBD.^[9]

Platform 1:

•  Airport line  express services to Cranbourne and Pakenham

Platform 2:

•  Airport line  services to Melbourne Airport

References

1. "New station at Keilor East". Victoria’s Big Build. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
2. Nelson, Jake (7 May 2024). "Victorian Government Confirms Four-Year Delay for Airport Rail". Australian Aviation. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
3. Jacks, Timna (28 October 2019). "Council wants airport trains to make a stop in the suburbs". The Age. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
4. "Plans released for Keilor East train station and above-ground Melbourne Airport station". ABC News. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
5. Hatch, Josh Gordon, Patrick (20 September 2022). "Fight or flight? Conflict with airport looms after government reveals 'sky rail' plan". The Age. Retrieved 26 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. Hatch, Patrick (25 September 2022). "After 95 years of asking for a train station, this 'transport slum' almost missed out". The Age. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
7. Build, Victoria’s Big (21 September 2022). "Melbourne Airport Rail Business Case". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
8. "Melbourne Airport Rail overview". Victoria’s Big Build. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
9. "Melbourne Airport Rail Business Case Supplement - Keilor East Station" (PDF). Melbourne Airport Rail - Victoria's Big Build. Retrieved 7 October 2022.