Work on the second stage of the $12 to $13 billion Melbourne Airport Rail Link will begin in the coming weeks, covering site investigations, procurement and development works for a new 7.4 kilometre rail link from Albion to Keilor East. Major construction on that stage isn’t due to start until 2028, and isn’t due to finish until 2031.
The announcement came jointly from the Commonwealth and Victorian governments in October 2026, and was reported by Sourceable. Community engagement and early designs follow next year, which puts real tender packages and site establishment some way down the track.
What stage two actually builds
Three big pieces of civil work sit inside that 7.4 kilometres: a new station at Keilor East, a rail flyover at Albion that carries airport trains over Ballarat Road, and a 500 metre rail bridge over the Maribyrnong River.
None of those are small jobs. A half-kilometre river crossing is a piling and pier job long before anyone sees a deck, and the geotechnical investigations starting in the coming weeks are the first step in working out what the ground under the alignment will carry.
The Albion flyover is the one that will be felt locally. Building rail over a live arterial road means staged occupations, night and weekend shifts, and traffic management running alongside the structural work rather than after it.
The new station at Keilor East runs the usual sequence for a rail structure: civil and structure first, then services rough-in, canopies, glazing and fitout trailing behind. Trains are due to run to that station once stage two wraps in 2031.
Stage one is already turning dirt
Stage one construction started in early 2026 and is the piece that makes the rest possible. It turns Sunshine Station into a six-platform regional interchange, untangles six kilometres of track between Sunshine and Albion, upgrades signalling, and puts in two new rail bridges.
That work does double duty. Beyond laying the groundwork for the airport line, it’s meant to let trains run more often on the Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo lines and pave the way for electrifying the Melton line.
Once the whole thing is running, passengers will be able to get from Melbourne Airport to the CBD by rail for the first time, with one stop at the new Keilor East station, then on through the Metro Tunnel from Sunshine. The trip is pencilled in at around 30 minutes.
What it means for the order book
Read the dates before you read the dollar figure. What’s starting in the coming weeks is investigation and procurement work: geotech crews, surveyors, service locating, and the tender grind that goes with a project of this size. The heavy civil front doesn’t open until 2028.
For a Victorian subbie weighing up whether to put a second crew on, that gap matters. An apprentice signed this year will be well into their indentures by the time the main construction push starts, which is a better argument for taking one on now than against it, provided the intervening work is there.
It also matters for anyone shaping a business around government civil work. The procurement phase is when subcontractor lists get built and prequalification paperwork gets checked, not 2028. Victoria’s Big Build program publishes its project and supplier information at bigbuild.vic.gov.au, and the Commonwealth’s side of the funding sits with the federal infrastructure department at infrastructure.gov.au.
The opening date nobody will name
Here’s the part the announcement doesn’t settle. When the Victorian Government first announced the airport link in 2018, the full line was slated to open in 2029. After years of delay there’s no firm timeline at all, and the line isn’t expected to fully open until at least the early to mid 2030s.
The hold-up, as Sourceable reported, came from a long dispute between the Victorian Government and the private operator of Melbourne Airport over whether the station in the airport precinct should sit above ground or underground.
Asked when the line would be fully open, Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the timing is still being worked through, according to Sourceable. The Melbourne Airport Rail Steering Committee is still working through options for the final stage.
At state level, both major parties have promised to finish the line if they win in November. That’s a rare bit of certainty on a project that’s had very little of it.
What to watch
Two things worth keeping an eye on if you’re chasing work off this one. First, when procurement for the stage two packages actually hits the market, because that’s the point where head contractors start building subbie lists. Second, what the steering committee lands on for the airport station itself, because above ground versus underground changes the scope, the sequence and the trades needed at the airport end by an order of magnitude.
Until then, the only part of stage two with boots on the ground is the crew drilling holes and locating services along the alignment.
Frequently asked questions
When does major construction start on stage 2 of Melbourne Airport Rail?
Major construction on the 7.4 kilometre Albion to Keilor East link isn’t due to start until 2028, finishing in 2031. What begins in the coming weeks is site investigation and procurement work only.
When will the Melbourne Airport Rail line fully open?
There’s no firm opening date. After a long dispute over whether the airport station should sit above or below ground, the line isn’t expected to fully open until at least the early to mid-2030s.
What work is happening on stage 2 right now?
Geotechnical investigations, surveying and service locating along the Albion to Keilor East alignment, alongside procurement work such as building subcontractor lists and checking prequalification paperwork.
Sourced from Sourceable. Original article.
