As part of the larger and long-awaited $10-billion airport connection project, Sunshine Station will be rebuilt. Federal infrastructure minister Catherine King said it was a “crucial first step to deliver Melbourne Airport Rail”.

The upgraded Sunshine Station will include additional platforms, track and bridge works and signalling improvements that the state said would “untangle this complex junction which services both freight and more than 70 percent of V/Line’s network—including the Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat lines”.

The station upgrade will be delivered alongside the Victorian government’s $143-million Sunshine Station Precinct Masterplan, which includes a new bus interchange and improved pedestrian connections.

The project is expected to create new development opportunities along the rail corridor and in Melbourne’s western growth areas—Victorian transport infrastructure minister Danny Pearson said that “rebuilding Sunshine Station will help to unlock capacity for future upgrades for Melbourne’s growing west”.