A report into the stalled $10 billion Airport Rail Link says the project remains “viable and necessary” and has outlined three recommendations to get it back on track.
Mediator Neil Scales has recommended against the Commonwealth and State considering an underground station at Tullamarine – unless the airport owners can produce a “comprehensive” business case showing it stacks up.
The report recommended an overground rather than an underground station.
But he says that governments should move quickly to upgrade a Sunshine super hub that would capitalise on early works for the airport project, and which would intersect with the link once it’s resurrected.
Mr Scales’s report also says there should be fresh modelling done to show how quickly the Tullamarine Fwy will fill up, which would indicate how urgent the rail link would be.
The Albanese Government has sent the full report to the airport owners and Allan Government to consider, and said it encouraged them to “work constructively together to determine next steps to progress this important project”.
