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Melbourne Airport flags new flyover, transport hub

written by australianaviation.com.au | August 29, 2012

Melbourne Airport expects passenger numbers to double over the next 20 years. (Melbourne Airport)

Melbourne Airport has released plans to build a new elevated flyover meant to relieve traffic congestion while funneling vehicles toward a new multi-purpose transport hub.

The plans, which are at the concept stage, mean passenger could no longer be dropped off at the airport’s main entrance and would instead face a longer walk from the transport hub to the terminals. The hub, as envisioned, would include taxi ranks, SkyBus and public bus stops, and a stop for the airport rail link if that project moves forward.

“The project is still very much in its early stages of design and planning and is also several years from completion, but it’s the kind of major project that is necessary for us to meet the future demand for access to Melbourne Airport,” airport CEO Chris Woodruff said.

The single direction elevated roadway, designed to separate vehicles and pedestrians and avoid congestion caused by pedestrian crossings, would likely cost “several hundred million dollars” and would be completed in stages, Mr Woodruff said.

The flyover would be part of the airport’s next master plan, which is due to be opened for public comment early next year. The airport is also due to start construction of its new Terminal Four — expected to house budget carriers — early in 2013.

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Mr Woodruff said the airport would spend an estimated $1 billion on infrastructure upgrades over the next five years on the expectation that passenger numbers will double to 60 million a year over the next two decades.

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Comments (6)

  • Raymond

    says:

    The MEL to CBD airport rail link needs to happen and is long overdue.

  • Graham

    says:

    The heavy rail to Tullamarine Airport is a long way off,vested interests have seen to that,
    besides the current State Government has committed about 240 million dollars(no doubt that
    will blow out) to a rail line to Avalon Airport,which currently has about 8 passenger services a day
    How can this be justified.

  • Mike Swan

    says:

    And they are only planning this now?

    Australia is quickly becoming 3rd world…my last arrival into Melbourne was meet with a baggage carousel not rotating (too much baggage on the small thing), hundreds of people waiting to get their bags and some people even resorting to climbing over the carousel to get their bags and keep things moving! Welcome to Australia…living in Asia is a relief from this joke.

    As for the train line that was meant to happen years ago and was scrapped then…man, what a joke…what is meant to be Australia’s 2nd largest city and airport and does not even have a rail link.

    Australia is nothing short of embarrassing…these things should have been completed years ago. People say that Thailand is 3rd world…haha, look at Bangkok airport compared to what we have in Oz…we don’t even come close!

  • Justan

    says:

    Well, you have the train station at Lara so i assume it would be a mere extension of the current Geelong line. What gets me is that i heard its suppose to be a monorail to the airport? What craziness is this????
    And yes, the taxi lobby and vested interests within the melbourne airport board have consistently fought against the heavy or light rail link to the airport. They make 2 much money from fines, parking charges and kickbacks from the taxi companies.
    The government needs to legislate that a viable public transport option must be completed. How much longer must we languish in the dark ages when everyone keeps talking about reducing carbon pollution?

  • Graham

    says:

    Have fund managers and planners not heard of Peak Oil or climate change? I agree with other comments on the need for a rail service. Quite bizarre and Third World. What major city no longer has a rail line to their airport?

  • Callum

    says:

    Melbourne is certainly not the only city of its size to be without a railway to its airport. Sir Rod Eddington’s report describes rail as a “very poor investment for airport links around the world”. Both the Sydney airport link and Brisbanes Airtrain cost billions of taxpayer dollars, and have a far inferior service to what we have here. Sydney’s link is in financial trouble and Brisbane is making a profit but only because they stop services at 21:00 every day and run half hour frequencies. After all that taxpayer dollars they take longer due to wait times, cost users the same for tickets and have an inferior service when compared to SkyBus and SkyBus costs taxpayer’s nothing and is highly profitable and therefore economically sustainable.

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