Construction on the Long-Awaited Melbourne Airport Rail Link Is Set to Start by 2022

It's been a long (long) time coming, but a rail line from Melbourne's CBD to Tullamarine Airport is finally close to getting off the ground, with the Victorian and Federal governments officially 'signing off' on the project today.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today announced the signing of the Heads of Agreement, which formalises the governments' financial commitment ($5 billion each) to the project. This means that a team can start on a full Business Case for the project, which is set to be delivered next year.

If all goes to plan, construction will start in 2022 and be completed in nine years. Yep, mark down 2031 in your iCal — that's when you'll finally be able to banish the SkyBus from your life forever.

The Melbourne Airport Rail Link (MARL) will run from the CBD to Tullamarine via Sunshine. As well as clearing some congestion on the roads, it's hoped that the connection will also help speed things up on the overcrowded Geelong and Ballarat train lines. The plan is for the line to link in with the $11.3 billion Metro rail tunnel, which will supposedly open in 2026.

The Federal and State governments have committed $30 million to conducting a planning study for the infrastructure, which is likely to include extra train lines between Southern Cross Station and Melbourne's western suburbs.

Well, about time. Sydney and Brisbane already have airport rail links, and Perth is currently in the process of building its own. Maybe this will finally kill or clarify that myth around the airport's secret underground 'station' as well.