This month marks ten years since Victoria’s Level Crossing Removal Project removed its first set of boom gates, improving safety and easing congestion across Melbourne.
The program began in January 2016 with the removal of the dangerous and congested level crossing at Burke Road, Glen Iris, lowering the rail line under the road and opening a new Gardiner Station.
Burke Road had ranked among the city’s most congested intersections, with more than 25,000 vehicles, 150 trains and 180 trams passing through the junction each day.
Since then, the program has expanded into one of the largest rail infrastructure projects in Victoria’s history, committing to remove 110 level crossings across Melbourne by 2030, with 88 already removed.
Rail safety data shows the program is preventing an estimated 117 crashes and near misses each year by eliminating high-risk crossings.
This includes the crossings at Main and Furlong roads in St Albans, where two fatalities, three collisions and almost 80 near misses were recorded in the decade before their removal in 2016, and the accelerated removal at Union Road, Surrey Hills, following a fatal collision in 2016.
The program has also reduced congestion across Melbourne’s road network, removing more than 58 hours of boom gate downtime during the morning peak.
Additional benefits delivered through the program include:
- 54 new and upgraded stations
- More than 20 MCGs of new open space and 70 kilometres of walking and cycling paths
- Planting 29,000 trees and around four million shrubs and grasses
- 7,000 new and upgraded station car parking spaces
The program has supported jobs and skills growth, with more than 110 million work hours delivered over the past decade and employment created for close to 6,000 workers at peak construction.
It has also supported workforce pathways through the Engineering Pathway Industry Cadetship (EPIC) program, with 54 cadets securing roles on level crossing removal projects.
Four metropolitan rail lines are now fully boom gate free – Lilydale, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury – with the Frankston and Werribee lines scheduled to follow in 2029 and 2030.
A further 8 level crossings are set to be removed this year, along with the opening of 2 new stations.
Alongside crossing removals, VIDA Rail is delivering additional projects including station upgrades in Boronia and Ballarat, construction of West Tarneit Station, due to open in 2026, the Melton Line Upgrade and the Sunshine Superhub as the first stage of a future rail link to Melbourne Airport.
