Altona Loop commuters will have replacement buses with the announcement that the loop will be closed at various times in October and November to facilitate work on the Bayside rail project.
Public Transport Victoria chief executive Mark Wild said the Altona Loop would be closed from October 19 to November 1 (at the times listed at the end), with buses running from Seaholme, Altona and Westona stations.
“Travel times may be extended by up to 20 minutes on weekends and 30 minutes on week nights,” he said.
State Transport Minister Terry Mulder, who did not attend last week’s public transport forum at Altona, said the Bayside rail project included major works to bring new X’Trapolis trains to the Werribee line.
“The $115 million Bayside rail project will improve train reliability and punctuality on the Werribee, Williamstown and Frankston lines by upgrading signalling and other rail infrastructure,” he said.
PTV spokeswoman Sharon Stapleton said Altona Loop needed to be temporarily closed to prepare for the new trains.
“Power on the Werribee line needs to be upgraded to prepare for the arrival of the new trains,” she said.
“These works started in May and were carried out between Hoppers Crossing and Aircraft stations.
“Rail infrastructure needs to be upgraded on the Werribee line to allow trains to travel between the Frankton and the Werribee/Williamstown lines.”
Altona Loop spokeswoman Jennifer Williams said while the temporary closure would cause disruptions, upgrades were sorely needed.
“We welcome the upgrade to the signalling on the Altona loop,” she said.
“Although it will cause disruptions, signal failures have plagued the loop for many years and it is time they are fixed.”
Closure times are:
October 19 – all services
October 20-23 from 9pm until last train each night
October 26-30 from 9pm until last train each night
November 1 from 9pm until last train
