Trains will be running overhead in Pakenham in less than two months, the State Government has announced with the two new stations and the rail bridge to open in June.
Minister for Transport Infrastructure Danny Pearson visited the new Pakenham East Station with Pakenham MP Emma Vulin on Sunday 22 April to announced works are progressing at pace to build two new stations and remove three level crossings in Pakenham – with both stations ready to welcome back passengers by early June.
The home stretch of the works will be a winter blitz to complete the more than $1 billion of road and rail projects to level crossing gone from Pakenham.
From 9:00pm Friday, 17 May until early June, buses will replace trains between Berwick and Pakenham – with crews working around the clock to demolish the existing Pakenham Station and finish the elevated 2.5-kilometre rail bridge.
This will be a significant milestone in the goal of making the Pakenham line level crossing-free by 2025, creating capacity for more trains to run more often when the Metro Tunnel opens next year, while also making train services more reliable by allowing Metro and V/Line trains to cross over and bypass each other.
“We are charging ahead to deliver transformative road and rail projects across Melbourne’s south east – which will ease congestion and make our transport network safer,“ Minister for Transport Infrastructure Danny Pearson said.
As part of the works, the Pakenham line is being extended to East Pakenham, creating a new station for the growing suburb that will house 20,000 residents in the coming years.
This station includes 300 car parks, bike facilities, bus bays and pick-up and drop-off zones near the station.
“These projects will transform our growing Pakenham community – along with the brand-new Pakenham Station, the new East Pakenham Station will improve reliability and help get thousands of locals to where they need to go,“ Pakenham MP Emma Vulin said.
