Airport rail link mediator recommend against underground station in Melbourne

An independent report into Melbourne’s much-awaited airport rail link, has recommended the station be built above ground.

Transcript

00:00A rail link to Melbourne Airport is something that's been on the agenda for around 60 years

00:06and recently the State Government and Melbourne Airport operators have been at loggerheads

00:11over just where to put this proposed new station. Melbourne Airport wants it to go underground

00:16to allow for future expansion and also a potential third runway, but the State Government says

00:22that it's going to be much cheaper and faster to build it above ground. A mediator was actually

00:27brought in and Neil Scales has now handed down his report. He says that that below ground

00:34option should be disregarded and shouldn't be considered by State and Federal Governments

00:39and if the Melbourne Airport operators want to push ahead with this then they should develop

00:44a comprehensive business case, which is something that Melbourne Airport says it's now going

00:49to do. The State Government says that Melbourne Airport operators have been stalling on this

00:54project. It's also agreed with the recommendations to expand and upgrade the Sunshine Station

01:03to make it into a major transport hub and the calls to just get on with the job have

01:08also been echoed by the Transport Workers Union. They say that now that this result

01:14is in, it's now time to simply go ahead and build it and Moonee Valley Council, which

01:19is in Melbourne's north, is also saying that we don't need a Royals Royce gilded underground

01:25station and it's time to start looking at this rail link. In the end the mediator says

01:31that he simply wants both sides to get back to the bargaining table and come up with a

01:36solution and this news comes at one of the busiest times of the year for Melbourne Airport.

01:43Over the next two weeks for school holidays we're expecting to see around 1.7 million

01:47people come through the Melbourne Airport doors and next Friday is going to be the busiest

01:52day with just under 120,000 passengers in a single day.