Background

The Regional Rail Link will consist of about 90 kilometres of new tracks that the Government says will help speed up suburban and V/Line services through the western suburbs. The tracks will run from Southern Cross through Footscray to Sunshine, along the existing rail corridor, and then to Werribee. This requires widening of the existing rail corridor, to accomodate and extra two railway tracks.

The project is due to be completed in early 2016. It will also major changes to Footscray, West Footscray and Sunshine train station, as well as a new bridge over the Maribyrnong. The project has required land acquisition (both residential and business) and has affected road and pedestrian access to many areas during works. Read more about the project at the RRL website.

The Regional Rail Link is jointly funded by the federal and state governments, with $3.225 billion contributed by the Commonwealth.

The project has been divided into work packages, which went to tender. Different companies are working on different sections of the track, though there is some overlap. For example, the area behind Railway Place in Footscray is being worked on by two separate business alliances, the "Maribyrnong to  City" group and the "Footscray to Deer Park" alliance. Read more about the RRL contracts on their FAQ page.

In 2010 residents of Railway Place campaigned to have their street saved from demolition, as widening of the rail corridor meant that either Railway Place or land on the other side of the tracks would be acquired by the government. Railway Place remains, though other areas of Footscray weren't so lucky—houses on one side of Buckley Street, for example, were acquired by the government and those houses bulldozed. To see more about this history, please see our Media page.