A new road bridge has opened in the Melbourne suburb of Beaconsfield to mark the removal of the 85th level crossing as part of the Victorian government’s Level Crossings Removal Project.
Updates safety data has shown the ongoing project is preventing 111 crashes and near misses on Melbourne roads per year, and is improving travel time for all motorists in the morning due to the cutting of 55 hours of boom gate down time.
Metro Trains says the number of train and vehicle collisions and near misses across the metropolitan network has dropped by nearly 80 per cent since 2019 to average just two incidents a month in 2024.
There are now just two boom gates remaining on Melbourne’s Pakenham line, which is the region’s busiest.
“In 2021 we made a promise to get rid of 85 level crossings by 2025 and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams says.
“Getting rid of the Station Street, Beaconsfield level crossing brings the Pakenham Line one step closer to being boom gate free in 2025, transforming journeys in our city’s south east.”
The Level Crossing Removal Project has promised to remove 110 level crossings across Melbourne by 2030.
Read more ATN:
NSW tightens drink, drug driving laws
“Con job”? What’s in the 2025-26 Budget for transport
MinRes reopens problem haulage road