By Hannah Vandenbogaerde
Construction on the Sunshine Superhub has officially begun, with the major infrastructure project expected to be completed by 2030.
According to a recent media statement, the Council of Brimbank has welcomed the release of new designs and investment by the State and Federal Government. With the goal of transforming Sunshine into the ‘CBD of Melbourne’s West’, they hope to increase economic growth and prosperity across the region.
“The Sunshine Superhub and Melbourne Airport Rail are nationally significant, once-in-a-generation projects with the potential to shift the intergenerational disadvantage experienced by some in our communities. Transforming Sunshine into the CBD of the west will improve transport connections and create over 40,000 new jobs and will help to service and support the growth and prosperity of the region and all its people,” the Director of City Futures Kevin Walsh says.
A ‘Sunshine Station Precinct Masterplan’ by the Victorian Government consists of different stages and projects, including a new airport rail link, an extended concourse and upgrading of the Sunshine station and surrounds. It boasts of the many advantages it will bring, such as improving connectedness within the suburbs, attracting more investment and creating a better place to live.
The focus is put on the three sub-precincts Station Place, Sun Crescent, and Southern Village.
“Works are underway to deliver the first stage of Melbourne Airport Rail, turning Sunshine Station into a Superhub by untangling six kilometres of track between West Footscray and Albion to enable more than 1000 train services through the station each day,” a Melbourne Airport Rail spokesperson said.
Despite the enthusiasm of the Council, local reactions are mixed.
Sunshine locals Matt Way and Justin Mansfield are both looking forward to many of the promises made by the plan. They say they are excited for a more efficient system, including more trains running and an airport rail.
“I think it is going to be fantastic for the area. Obviously, it is another big boost for infrastructure. We have already had the metro tunnel that has just opened a few months ago. Now this is going to create more platforms at Sunshine which is going to be good for the V Line trains,” Justin says.
However, they also have some concerns with the current plan.
As the opening of the Metro tunnel a few months ago came paired with years of construction and disruptions, they are afraid the cycle will repeat itself.
“You get given with one hand, they have taken away with the other hand. And it is just going to be something else we are going to have to deal with,” Justin says.
Matt says that a shared user path along the rail corridor was closed during earlier discussions about an airport rail link, which he and his wife often used as cyclists.
“And we use that path to get into the city, because it is off the road. It is really safe. But it got closed for months. And no work was happening, it just got forgotten. So I am worried about things like that happening again.”
The project team at Melbourne Airport Rail says that any disruption while project works are underway will be communicated to the community ahead of time.
They say these works will be completed while construction teams are already working in the area to minimise disruptions and revitalize the Sunshine Station precinct to attract and guide future development of the land near the station over time.
“We understand projects of this size and complexity take time to plan and execute … Council continues to advocate to VIDA Rail about mitigating and minimising construction impacts on residents and businesses as much as possible during construction phases,” says Kevin Walsh from City Futures.
Justin is also concerned with the changes made to the original plan. He says he had hoped for some elements to remain, such as escalators on every platform and standard gauge tracks.
While the council is encouraging the community to provide feedback on their website, Justin questions their ‘commitment to consultation’ and says only questions about design have been asked.
“It was not real feedback. It was simply ‘tell us about a few details’. And I do not think there was really an opportunity to give proper feedback that can actually become part of the plan,” he says.
Another local resident Mae* says she is not really ‘fussed’ on the plan itself as she does not think it will bring the promised economic advantages.
She’s also angry at the decision to close one of the lanes of the overpass arguing that one way of transportation is being sacrificed for another. She says council could opt for a separate bridge or extension.
“Why does this have to be an either or scenario for Sunshine? Why in 2026 can we not have a solution that works for all parties?”
She says a detour map used during recent works on the Hampshire Road bridge, rerouted drivers via Station Place and Withers Street and says this illustrates how traffic could be redirected if the northern ramp is permanently converted to a pedestrian and cycling route.
“Those streets are not designed to be taking all of that traffic … The Sunshine Superhub can go ahead without that change, it is not going to make any difference to the actual train station. So why would you take away something and make it harder for residents when it is not actually going to impact the hub?”
According to Melbourne Airport Rail, repurposing the northern lane of the Hampshire Road Bridge for a separated pedestrian and cycle path will complete the missing link in the area’s active transport network and connection over the rail line. It will also minimize disruption to drivers and train passengers during construction and allow the new connection to open sooner.
“The Sunshine Station Precinct Masterplan 2022 proposed converting the existing northbound lane of Hampshire Road, identified as the Spurline, into a pedestrian and cyclist link that reconnects the northern and southern parts of the Sunshine CBD. The proposed changes to the overpass are intended to increase connectivity for people of all ages and abilities and all forms of commuting”, Kevin Walsh says.
However Mae says these longer travel times will lead to more division within Sunshine instead of connectedness.
She argues that southern Sunshine will be segregated more with each iteration of the station upgrade.
“A lot of people are going to be forced to go over the opposite direction and then run back through the suburb to try and get to the shops. And it really just further divides the suburbs.”
The project team at Melbourne Airport Rail says that the Department of Transport and Planning carried out two rounds of community consultation in 2021 and 2022 for the Sunshine Station Masterplan with 1400 survey respondents and a further 100 people engaging in information sessions. They said more than half identified turning the northern lane of the Hampshire Road Bridge into a pedestrian and cycle path as a priority, while locals told them they wanted a new connection that allowed them to cross the rail without having to use the existing overpass.
However Mae thinks many locals are being misled as past surveys about the project did not really specify the meaning of a newly constructed spurline.
For now, Matt Way and Justin Mansfield both wish for minimal disruptions. They hope for more trains being provided during construction works, a proper roadblock so replacement buses can move efficiently and that plans will actually get finished this time.
*Mae is a pseudonym as source preferred to stay anonymous
