FRANKSTON line commuters are being asked to be patient during a 37-day closure of part of the rail line to remove level crossings at Bentleigh, Ormond and McKinnon.
Passengers will have to hop on to buses supplied by Metro Trains between Caulfield and Moorabbin until works end on 31 July.
“These level crossings were among Victoria’s worst, with boom gates down for more than a third of the morning peak. Those boom gates are history and we’re getting on with removing more crossings,” Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said.
During the closure, 1000 construction workers will work around the clock, excavating more than 250,000 cubic metres – enough to fill the MCG – to lower the train line by up to seven metres and remove the crossings.
The Stony Point line will also be closed down until 31 July since trains running along that line will be unable to travel to Melbourne for maintenance during the partial Frankston line shutdown.
Trains will return at the start of August, and new train stations at Ormond, McKinnon and Bentleigh will be opened to passengers over the month.
See levelcrossings.vic.gov.au for more information about the works, the project and service changes.