Pakenham Level Crossing Removal Project frequently asked questions (FAQs)

2 December 2020

Below are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Main Street, Racecourse Road and McGregor Road, Pakenham level crossing removal projects.

63,000 vehicles use these crossings each day, with the boom gates down for up to 30% of the morning peak.

Furthermore, 170 Metro and V/Line passenger trains pass through the level crossings daily carrying up to 90,000 passengers along the Cranbourne – Pakenham Line per day.

The Victorian Government is removing 17 level crossings, as part of a $15 billion investment to upgrade the Pakenham Line that will improve safety, reduce congestion and allow more trains to run more often.

Construction will begin in mid 2021, with the boom gates gone by 2023/24 and new stations finished in 2024.

Technical investigations have found that an elevated rail line is the best solution and will reduce disruption to commuters and the community.

This will also create new open space under the rail line for the community to use.

The new elevated rail line will begin just before McGregor Road and will return to ground level just past Racecourse Road.

The track will then be extended by 2km to the new Pakenham East Station, which will remove the bottleneck between regional and metropolitan train services.

Detailed engineering and design work will continue, and we’ll share further information with the community in early 2021.

Together with the removal of the level crossing at Cardinia Road, which is nearing completion, this will mean no more boom gates in Pakenham.

We are building a new Pakenham Station to provide better connections between metropolitan and regional train services along with upgraded facilities and improved security.

The project will deliver 2 new electrified tracks for dedicated passing of regional trains, freight trains and trains heading to the new Metro train depot.

There will be a dedicated Metro train turn-back off the mainline to give V/Line services priority access to Pakenham Station platforms, enabling more frequent and reliable train services from Gippsland

The new Pakenham East Station will improve reliability for metropolitan and regional passengers.

It will future-proof the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Gippsland lines, allowing more services to be added in the future.

The new stations also support the other Victorian Big Build projects which will revitalise the region.

We are still in the early planning stages for the project, so the exact location for Pakenham East Station is still being determined.

Only Metro trains will stop at the new Pakenham East Station.

Passengers heading towards Gippsland from the Pakenham area will need to board V/Line trains at Pakenham Station.

To further refine the technical aspects of the design, the project team will be continuing investigations in the area.

This work will include site surveys, locating utility services as well as testing water and ground conditions.

You may notice some machinery and workers in the area while this is happening.

We’ll be notifying nearby residents and businesses ahead of any works.

If you’d like to stay up to date about any upcoming works, you can sign up to email updates for the project.

You can also register for SMS updates by texting PAKENHAM to 0428 581 917.

The insights we gather from the community on what they value and would like to see as part of the project will be fed back into the project team.

In early 2021, we will back out in the community to ask for further feedback which will help us refine aspects of the project, including the look and feel of the station precinct and the open space underneath the elevated rail line.

Along with our technical investigations, we'll use your feedback to further progress the design for the project.

Before major works begin in mid-2021, we will share concept designs and show how community feedback has been incorporated.

You can share your views with us via our Pakenham online engagement hub from 2 December to 16 December 2020.