By Esther Lauaki
The Ballarat Line Upgrade is about to clock up one million hours of work as construction on the project heads towards completion by the end of the year.
Progress is on track at the new Cobblebank station which will provide a vital transport link in Melton south.
The station is being built as part of the half-a-billion-dollar upgrade and will have two platforms, a carpark and a station building with a waiting area.
It will also have an accessible pedestrian overpass, with lifts, ramps and stairs.
Melton MP Steve McGhie said the station will connect the growing community, which is expected to reach 55,000 in the next decade, to the train network for the first time.
“This new station will make a real difference for the local community – better connecting them to work, education and other essential services, and getting them home sooner,” Mr McGhie said.
Cobblebank station plans also allow for more tracks to be built through the station as part of future rail upgrades.
Premier Daniel Andrews, who was in Melton to inspect the station, said the Ballarat Line Upgrade was the first step of the government’s Western Rail Plan – to deliver more trains, more often to Melbourne’s west.
The rail plan includes track duplication, station upgrades and passing loops.
Train services will resume on the Ballarat line from Monday, July 8.
