End of the line for Yarra tram bridge as government pivots on Fishermans Bend transport plan

After years of bitter debate, the state government has quietly scrapped its billion-dollar plan for a tram bridge over the Yarra River between Docklands and Fishermans Bend.

The controversial crossing – once touted as a linchpin of Australia’s largest urban renewal project – was dropped in the newly released Fishermans Bend Integrated Transport Plan (FBITP), published without fanfare on the AFL Grand Final public holiday.

Instead, the government will reroute existing tram services via Southbank, creating two new spurs into the precinct. It has also proposed a pedestrian and cycling bridge across the Yarra in the same corridor, keeping some of the tensions alive for residents at Yarra’s Edge who long argued the bridge would blight their community.

For locals who fought the bridge, including the Yarra Residents Action Group, the move is vindication. For others, particularly business and development interests in Fishermans Bend, the decision raises more questions than answers.

The new strategy maps transport investment across three “horizons”. In the short term, priorities include safer walking and cycling routes, more bus services, and changes to existing tram routes.

In the medium term, new tram connections will arrive from the CBD via Southbank, along with a possible Webb Dock freight link. In the long term, a heavy rail tunnel with stations at Docklands, Sandridge and the Innovation Precinct is flagged.

But the absence of concrete dates has sparked frustration. Fishermans Bend Business Forum (FBBF) president and managing director of NSL Property Guy Naselli likened the “horizons” to a builder’s promise that a project will be finished “soon”.

“I’ve yet to find a timeline and a date in the calendar that says soon. It doesn’t exist,” he told Docklands News. “You can’t run a project without a detailed program and a completion date. Unless there are hard dates, it’s just like shooting arrows into the sky and hoping one of them lands.”

Mr Naselli said major investors remained reluctant to commit without certainty. “Build it and they will come – but unless you build it, they won’t.”

A render of the now scrapped proposal for a tram bridge over the Yarra River.

For years the government insisted the Collins Street tram bridge was the best option. Critics such as former FBBF executive officer David Weston urged more affordable alternatives but were dismissed.

Now, with the bridge abandoned in favour of spurs off existing routes, some argue years have been wasted.

“Absolutely,” Mr Naselli said. 

While the tram bridge is gone, the plan retains a pedestrian and cycling link in the same location – still a worry for Yarra’s Edge residents who fear any structure would impact access to its marina. The strategy also moots a freight connection between Webb and Swanson Docks, a long-feared choke point for Docklands if realised.

The City of Melbourne, which has repeatedly stressed the urgency of public transport links to Fishermans Bend, is expected to keep up the pressure. Councillors warned last year that without a tram line, the renewal of Lorimer and other precincts “just isn’t going to work”.

Infrastructure Victoria has also labelled a tram into Fishermans Bend as “most urgent” and recommended delivery by 2026. That target has already slipped.

By 2050, Fishermans Bend is projected to house 80,000 residents, employ 80,000 workers and host 20,000 students. Public transport is critical to achieving the plan’s goal of 80 per cent of trips made by sustainable modes.

Yet progress is stalling. The University of Melbourne has suspended plans for a new engineering campus in the Employment Precinct, citing lack of infrastructure. Developers remain wary. And residents in Docklands, who feared the tram bridge would sever their waterfront, now find themselves eyeing the next iteration of government promises with caution.

The government has argued that staging transport investments is necessary to match population growth. But after more than a decade of debate, patience is wearing thin.

“Frankly, it’s not so much how it gets there – but it’s got to get there,” Mr Naselli said.

Yarra Residents Action Group chairman Keith Sutherland said the whole strategy "says a lot, but tells you little".

"Again, uncertainty exists as it seems Yarra’s Edge Marina is to be almost sacrificed due to a pedestrian/bicycle bridge from Collins to Lorimer streets and, of course, the freight bridge closer to Bolte Bridge," Mr Sutherland said. 

"These two bridges don’t have a height level mentioned but you can be sure they will be at a lower level being more cost effective which will eliminate approximately half the boats in the marina rendering it unviable." •