Airport rail study ‘doctored’ to push Sunshine route, royal commission told
Planning expert alleges costings inflated to make rival Maribyrnong option appear unviable
The Big Build royal commission has been told that the business case for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link was manipulated to ensure the state government’s preferred Sunshine route would be selected over a more direct alternative through Maribyrnong. A confidential submission by a planning expert who advised on the project alleges that a secret working group was established at the direction of then-public transport minister Jacinta Allan to bake in the case for Sunshine, and that cost estimates for the Maribyrnong option were deliberately inflated by exaggerating the required tunnelling. Allan denies the allegations and is expected to be called as a witness.