Stage 3
Stage 3 (2026-2037) sees the line’s services separated from suburban services between Frankston and Caulfield, with the construction of a new “Frankston-Cranbourne Rail Link” via Carrum Downs, boosting capacity and reliability for the Frankston, Rosebud and Stony Point lines while also connecting the Peninsula to Cranbourne, Dandenong and Clayton.
Metro Tunnel extension
Timeframe: 2032-2037
Even after the construction of the Metro Tunnel, the Caulfield-South Yarra corridor will remain a bottleneck that will prevent an increase in service frequency in Victoria’s southeast. This can be solved by extending the Melbourne Metro tunnel to Caulfield.
This extra pair of tracks will separate Pakenham and Cranbourne trains from Gippsland trains, allowing for more frequent trains on all three lines.
Frankston-Cranbourne Rail Link
Timeframe: 2032-2037
This project would combine with the Metro Tunnel extension to provide the capacity needed to separate peninsula trains from Frankston trains. The double-track line from Frankston to Cranbourne would also provide a faster alternative to the pre-existing bus route in connecting the two major suburbs. Trains would also run via Dandenong, better connecting it to Frankston and the peninsula. The line would have 3 new stations: Frankston North, Carrum Downs and Cranbourne West. This project would be combined with the removal of every level crossing between Dandenong and Cranbourne.
The new line would allow Carrum Downs residents to get to Melbourne in a single mode of public transport. The boosted capacity would also allow for an off-peak frequency of 3 tph on both the Stony Point and Rosebud lines. They would also no longer need to couple or divide at Baxter, boosting travel times and allowing 6tph off-peak frequencies between Frankston and Cranbourne. The connection via Carrum Downs would also ease pressure on the Karingal line by moving passengers to more local trains.
Dandenong line quadruplication
Timeframe: 2028-2033
The Dandenong rail corridor is the busiest in Victoria. The frequency of suburban trains on the corridor causes a bottleneck on the existing two tracks during peak periods, slowing regional trains and preventing the running of expresses. Quadruplication will widen the corridor by adding two express tracks.
Quadruplication will provide the capacity boost needed to run peninsula trains via Dandenong. It will also reduce travel times for Gippsland trains by allowing them to overtake suburban trains. The track will be built to the Regional Fast Rail standard speed of 160km/h, further reducing travel times.
The Dandenong line corridor can be quadruplicated at any time to boost Gippsland line travel times, but is not needed for the Peninsula Rail Link until stage 3.