Dandenong Rail Capacity Program

What's happening

Development of a staged program for rail capacity upgrades on the Dandenong rail line is one of the key priorities of the Victorian Government's submission to Infrastructure Australia.

Program description

The Dandenong Rail Capacity Program will deliver progressive upgrades to existing corridor infrastructure to enable a higher capacity, more reliable and better quality trains. The program of upgrades could include:

These initiatives will support higher train frequency and nine-car trains.

To address existing capacity pressures, upgrades would be progressively implemented over the next decade, commencing during the next two years with timetabling changes.

Program benefits

The Dandenong rail line serves one of Melbourne's largest regions, with strong population and job growth projected to continue. The line also connects regional passengers from the Latrobe Valley with Melbourne.

The Dandenong Rail Capacity Program has the potential to increase capacity on the Dandenong rail line by approximately 11,000 passengers per hour.

The program is aimed at better connecting communities along the corridor by reducing the severance caused by level crossings, and will seek to stimulate urban renewal in a number of activity centres along the corridor.

The program will also support the more efficient movement of freight in the southeast by reducing congestion. This includes significant industrial areas and the Port of Hastings, which is proposed to become Victoria’s second major container port.

Related projects

The Victorian Coalition Government is also seeking pre-construction funding from Infrastructure Australia for Melbourne Metro, which will link the Dandenong and Sunbury corridors via a nine kilometre rail tunnel between South Yarra and South Kensington.