Works to remove level crossings at Dandenong and Caulfield have been completed.
A new 3.2km stretch of elevated rail opened for passengers in mid-June between Caulfield and Hughesdale, removing the final four of nine crossings along Melbourne’s busiest rail corridor.
Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan, said,“We said we’d do it, and now every crossing between Caulfield and Dandenong is a relic of the past.
“With every level crossing gone on this corridor we can now get on with delivering more trains carrying more passengers Melbourne’s busiest rail corridor.
“The statistics for the nine Caulfield to Dandenong crossings are compelling: in the five years from 2013 to 2017, more than 120 accidents or near misses were reported, including 32 at Heatherton Road, Noble Park; 26 at Clayton Road, Clayton; and 21 at Grange Road, Carnegie,” Ms Allan said.
“Level crossings at Clayton and Centre Roads in Clayton, and Corrigan, Heatherton and Chandler Roads in Noble Park, were all removed earlier this year. Today’s milestone means that metro, V/Line and freight trains are now running across three sections of elevated rail, totalling six kilometres combined.”
Member for Oakleigh, Steve Dimopoulos, said the project had made roads safer for the community.
“Locals can get to work, drop their kids to school and move about the community without ever having to worry about boom gates again. And they can do it knowing that our roads are so much safer,” Mr Dimopoulos said.
