Service relocations at Sunshine

The north-east side of Sunshine station used to be shaded by a number of tall trees.

But in January 2023 Melbourne Airport Rail posted a notice that they needed to be removed from the rail corridor to make way for the location of power and signalling cables.

So rev up the chainsaws, these trees are coming down.

Allowing new signalling and power conduits to be run beside the railway line.

But it turns out the tallest trees they removed didn’t even lie on the path taken by the cables.

The rail corridor being so narrow they decided to use above ground trunking to carry the power and signalling cable runs.

But it’s too late for the trees – they’re already gone.

And another at Albion

Albion station used to have tall trees between the railway line and the car park.

They even appeared in the artists impressions that Melbourne Airport Rail released in August 2022 in their application for a Heritage Victoria permit.

Melbourne Airport Rail artists impression

The trees apparently not causing any issues with the parallel 15 metres tall rail viaduct.

Melbourne Airport Rail artists impression

But in January 2023 the trees were fenced off.

And in came the chainsaws, reducing them to just a stump.

So why were they removed?

It seems the only possible reason is because they wanted to put the new underground services conduit in a straight line parallel to the railway line, and routing them around a tree would be too hard.

The only upside being a clear view of the John Darling flour mill.

At least until the view gets blocked for good by the cheap and nasty Melbourne Airport Rail viaduct passing over Ballarat Road.

‘Temporary’ car park at Tottenham station

In January 2023 the Melbourne Airport Rail announced that they would be building a “temporary” 300 space car park at Tottenham station to compensate for car park closures at Albion and Sunshine – “no net loss of car parking” strikes again.

But it was being delivered at more than just a financial cost – three trees were also due to be chopped down.

A big gum tree.

Google Street View

This little introduced tree.

Google Street View

And this straggly thing.

Google Street View

A fence went up around the site of the car park soon after.

And then the excavators rolled in.

The locals weren’t happy about the permanent loss of trees for a temporary car park.

But the car park machine goes brrrr.

Gravel being used to show this was just a “temporary” car park.

And by Mary 2023 it was ready for use.

For just a handful of cars each weekday.

So what will come first – the resumption of work on the Melbourne Airport Rail and eventual removal of the “temporary” car park, or cancellation of the project and the car park living forever.

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The works notice that never was

The first sign of what was to come was posted on the Facebook page of local state MP Sarah Connolly, who posted a copy of a Melbourne Airport Rail works notice.

It advised that shared path between Sunshine station and Matthews Street in Station would be closed from January 16 until April 30, with a detour via Station Place and Drayton Street.

Signage soon appeared at Sunshine station telling motorists that a few parking spaces would be closed.

But nothing appeared beside the shared path.

Until January 20, when a fence suddenly appeared across the path at Sunshine station.

And a ‘footpath closed’ sign across the Matthews Street end of the path.

But still no signage from the Melbourne Airport Rail project regarding the path closure – just one abut the removal of trees.

Work starts

February saw the excavators roll in, installing new signalling and power conduit along the railway line.

Dumping spoil next to Matthews Hill.

But by March 2023 the new conduits had been installed, and work was underway to restore the shared path to its previous state.

The fencing along the railway line back in place, ready for the promised April 2023 reopening.

And a second closure

Turns out out the April 30 reopening date was a lie – the Melbourne Airport Rail project finally put up a works notice beside the closed shared path, with an updated ’30 June 2023′ reopening date.

The shared path now being used as an access point to thenew station concourse that the Melbourne Airport Rail project was due to deliver at Sunshine station.

The trees cleared between the broad and standard gauge tracks were removed.

And the ground levelled out.

A piling rig was hard at work on the foundations at the end of platform 2.

And in May it was joined by a second piling rig working on an extension of platform 1.

Then on May 17 a bombshell:

Hundreds of tradespeople will be seconded to other projects after the Andrews government confirmed Melbourne Airport Rail Link construction would be paused, awaiting the results of a major Commonwealth review of the country’s infrastructure pipeline.

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan on Wednesday ended weeks of speculation about the future of the long-awaited rail line, saying works would be temporarily halted on the $13 billion Airport Rail Link.

“States [were] informed that no new contracts to progress works can be entered into during the review period, without express permission of the Commonwealth government,” Allan said in a statement.

“That means projects that are moving from early works packages cannot move to the next phase of works for the review period”

A few days later, the piling rigs at Sunshine station had been packed up and taken away.

Leaving a row of completed concrete piles.

But it gets worse

Despite work on Melbourne Airport Rail having wrapped up, the Sunshine-Tottenham shared path was still fenced off, hidden behind a pile of abandoned construction materials.

And then in early June the shared path detour via Station Place was itself closed – so that stormwater pipes leading to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Primary School could be upgraded.

So sick of waiting for the proper path to reopen, someone decided to take matters into their own hands and busted open the fence.

Revealing the mess that the Melbourne Airport Rail project left behind.

Gravel covering the concrete surface.

Bits of fence missing between the path and the rail corridor.

And the concrete surface cracked from heavy vehicles driving over it.

And a reopening

The first sign of an official reopening was relocation of the temporary fencing away from the path.

And a Brimbank City Council contractor planting new trees along the shared path.

A John Holland work crew then placing crash barriers along the damaged sections of path.

Covering the gravel that littered the concrete.

The concrete broken by heavy vehicles.

Mudholes beside the path created by careless drivers.

And replacing fences destroyed by excavators.

So what will happen first – restoration of the shared path to original condition, resumption of work on Melbourne Airport Rail, or the entire project being cancelled?

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