A long-awaited airport rail connection to Australia's second largest city has been thrown a $2 billion lifeline to revive the stalled project.
With the federal election approaching, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has set aside extra federal funding to build Melbourne Airport Rail after it was delayed by four years until at least 2033.
State and federal governments have long promised $5 billion each to build the link, slated to cost between $8 billion and $13 billion in 2018.
The prime minister on Wednesday committed another $2 billion to transform Sunshine Station, which will link the airport with the city.
In exchange, Victoria will bring forward $2 billion of its own previously committed cash but has not pledged extra money.
The spending will pay for extra platforms and a spur line, making the station a hub for regional rail services connecting to the airport.
It will set in train upgrades to services in Melbourne's north and west, including the start of delayed works to electrify the Melton line.
Another $1.2 billion will be tipped in by both governments as part of a suburban roads blitz in Melbourne.
All the extra funding has been budgeted ahead of the federal election, which must be held by May 17.
Building a rail line to the airport had been held up for far too long, Mr Albanese said.
"Putting it off hasn't made it any cheaper or any easier," he told the crowd at a Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event.
Construction was paused in 2023 after Melbourne Airport Rail became entangled in a protracted federal infrastructure review.
When the review finally gave it the green light to continue, the airport and state government were at loggerheads over whether the planned station at Tullamarine should be underground or elevated.
Mediator Neil Scales was hired to end the dispute and found the underground station should no longer be entertained, prompting the airport to relent.
Premier Jacinta Allan said the aim was for Sunshine Station works to start in early 2026 and be completed by 2030.
"We now have to go through a process of resetting the timeline for delivery of the overall project," she told reporters.
"But what this investment ... means is that we can get this part of the project moving."
Melbourne Airport chief executive Lorie Argus met Ms Allan on Monday as the frosty relationship thaws.
An airport spokesman said it was working with the state and federal government to deliver the project.
The Victorian government has spent about $1 billion on early works and planning for the airport line.
Construction on Sunshine Station will be the most complex part of the project, Ms Allan said.
Under the plan, the station will be designated a Suburban Rail Loop precinct to allow for more housing to be built.
The planned 90km orbital rail loop is designed to run from Cheltenham in Melbourne's southeast to Werribee in the outer west via the airport at Tullamarine.
Victoria is counting on the Albanese government to stump up one-third of the estimated $34.5 billion cost for the first stage between Cheltenham and Box Hill.
The federal government announced earlier in February it had "released" the $2.2 billion it committed for project early works before the 2022 election.
