I haven't updated anything on this for three years (!) and a lot has changed - major changes since the new state government was voted in (November 2014).
New Government had election promises/priorities which namely focused on cancelling the East-West link toll road through the inner north of the city. When the new government came in they released the business case (wasn't done under the previous Liberal Government) and they used it's poor BCR as justification - it did cost them near $1bil to cancel the contract however.
Anyhow new government has aspirations of removing 50 level crossings on the rail network across the metro area and there's many under way.
Many of the earliest on the list / earliest to be announced were rail under road grade, but recently the 9 crossings on one line are going to be grade separated with long-ish sections (3 sections in total) of elevated track. 5 stations will be rebuilt.
Scroll to the bottom of this page on the project's website for a map:
http://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/crossings
Earliest crossings announced:
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Dandenong corridor crossings (elevated) - this group of removals is costing $1.6bil AUD:
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The recent state government budget (produced in late April) is awash with cash thanks to the property boom and they're diverting a significant amount into rail projects (rather than just keeping it as a surplus, even though the budget estimates $9bil in surpluses over the next 4 years!).
Melbourne Metro, Existing rail extensions, Rural track duplication, level crossing removals and removing legacy pinchpoints.
Heavy Rail line extension - South Morang to Mernda:
The South Morang Line (which was extended from Epping only a few years ago) is further getting extended to Mernda out in the low-density suburbia which is growing in the outer north. It's 8km, will have two new stations (provision for a third) - the project is going to be implemented by the same authority doing the level crossing removals:
http://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/merndarail
Funded in the state budget - $587mil AUD
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Legacy pinchpoint removal: Hurstbridge line
There's a few single track sections around the ends-of-the-line in Melbourne, but the Hurstbridge line has a single track section in the middle through a tunnel - the recent budget funded to duplicate this plus remove an extra level crossings.
To be implemented by level crossings removal authority - $140mil AUD:
http://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/hur...l-line-upgrade
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Regional track duplication.
Melton which is an exurb of Melbourne is on the main Ballarat regional V/Line line and has single track from Melton to Deer Park where the Geelong line joins the Ballarat Line. The Melton-Deer Park section will be duplicated and after Melbourne Metro, Melton will join the [electrified] metro network - likewise a future project to quadruplicate Sunshine - Deer Park to separate Regional and Metro trains will be carried out.
It's 17km of duplicated track and funded in recent state budget to the tune of $518mil AUD.
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And the big kahuna,
Melbourne Metro.
There are many different components to the entire project and there are a few projects which are outside the financial scope of the Melbourne Metro package but are required for it (don't ask).
Dedicated website:
http://melbournemetro.vic.gov.au/
The Melbourne MEtro 'package' is $11billion AUD and includes twin 9km single track tunnels from the inner-south-east to the inner-north-west with 5 stations - 2 of them are large interchange stations with the existing network, 1 of them is making provisions to be an interchange with a 'second' metro tunnel project and 2 stations will be in new areas in the inner-city with no rail access.
The package ($11bil) includes new turnback infrastructure on the existing network - in fact half the entire existing rail network - that will allow all those lines to see increased, short-running, services because even more capacity is released by constructing and implementing the new cross-city tunnel component.
I had to emphasise that above because if you're looking to compare the cost of building the tunnels by simply going price divide tunnel kilometre length, you are going to get a wildly inaccurate figure!
This is from the Melbourne Metro Business Case document - it has all the components and actually points to all the "next" project to be done after it.
Two components that are not part of the Melbourne MEtro [financial] package but very much a part of it - new trains (they're given the acronym HCMT - High Capacity Metropolitan Train) and a new signalling system are both out to tender. The signalling system is to be procured and trialed on the Mernda Extension and then implemented on Melbourne MEtro - it's the same type of system you'd expect in a brand-spanker metro: Communications based, moving block.
The actual tunnels are going to link lines in the West/North-West (Sunshine, eventually Melton when it's electrificed) with lines in the South East (Pakenham/Cranbourne). After all the announcements since the budget - which allocated $2.9bil AUD over the forward estimates (next 4 budgetary years) [also earlier figures of $5bil AUD have been thrown about re: private money contribution]- we have a clearer picture of how services will operate.
The line will be completely operationally independent, have its own dedicated fleet of 60 odd trains, be running a proper metro signalling system and likely to be running on frequencies in the realm of 24 TPH in peaks. Pakenham to Sunbury (the two longest lines to be linked) is approximately 100km!
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