Commuters travelling across the Geelong region, a fast-growing area about 80 kilometres southwest of Melbourne, Australia, are now enjoying faster and more reliable journeys following the completion of the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Rail Duplication project in August 2024. The transport initiative marks one of the most critical infrastructure overhauls in Geelong’s history.
Funded by the Australian federal and Victorian state governments at a total cost of AUD $933.6 million, as part of more than AUD $1 billion invested in rail upgrades between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds, the project delivers the infrastructure needed to support one of Australia’s fastest-growing regional areas on Victoria’s busiest regional rail line.
The engineering scope of the duplication was aimed at eliminating the single-track bottlenecks that had plagued regional rail scheduling for years. The project was delivered for Rail Projects Victoria by the Djilang Alliance, made up of construction and engineering firms McConnell Dowell, Downer, Arup and WSP. Crews were tasked with duplicating around eight kilometres of track in sections between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds, with much of the major work carried out around the clock during an intensive 72-day winter construction blitz while the line was closed to trains.
According to the contractors who worked on the project, extensive earthworks were required to lay the new rail formations, ballast and upgraded signalling infrastructure, with specialised engineers from different fields working intensively to bring the project together. Compressed shutdown windows like this typically call for extra machinery on short notice, and major rail and road works have helped drive steady demand for excavator rental in Geelong as contractors scale up for intensive construction periods.
The team also faced various challenges in removing two major level crossings, at Fyans Street and the Surf Coast Highway, which were replaced with elevated concrete rail bridges carrying trains over the roads.
For many of the concrete contractors assigned to the project, it was one of the biggest undertakings of their careers. Other comprehensive rebuilds include South Geelong and Marshall stations, which feature brand new station buildings, second platforms and accessible pedestrian overpasses. On top of this, more than 200 new car parking spaces were added at Marshall Station to boost park-and-ride access for the growing communities south of Geelong.
According to planners, the project was not just about rail capacity, as it was also designed around community and environmental connectivity. Beyond the rail infrastructure, the project emphasised urban design and community integration, as seen in the more than five kilometres of new shared walking and cycling paths that create a continuous connection between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds for the first time.
These paths link into existing regional trails, including the Bellarine Rail Trail, establishing an active transport corridor across the region. New public spaces along the rail corridor, complemented by native landscaping, First Nations artworks and dedicated drainage and water-management systems, reflect the cultural and environmental focus of the project.
Delivered under Victoria’s Big Build, the state government’s major infrastructure program, the project created more than 1,300 jobs and enables five train services per hour during peak periods, boosting commercial activity and strengthening the region’s economy.
Put simply, the project benefits everyone who comes into contact with it, directly or indirectly.