Southern Cross Station working group yet to release new air-quality results

It has been 12 months since the Southern Cross Working Group was formed to examine and identify potential improvements to poor air quality at the station. However, while ongoing air-quality monitoring is taking place, no results have yet been made public.

The working group includes members from the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), the station owner Civic Nexus, V/Line, Kinetic (SkyBus), Metro Trains, and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

It is understood that as part of this, Civic Nexus regularly collects air-quality data and provides the results to the DTP on a monthly basis.

A DTP spokesperson told Docklands News that work was under way to further improve data collection to inform potential improvements within the Southern Cross Station precinct. However, this data has not been released for the public to see.

Previous air-quality results, which led to the formation of the working group, revealed that under the current standards, nitrous dioxide levels are more than 90 times the World Health Organisation’s guidelines, largely due to diesel trains and buses.

Additionally, based on evolving knowledge of the carcinogenic nature of diesel particulate matter (DPM), new Safe Work Australia Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) are set to take effect from December 1, 2026.

Last year, neighbouring resident Paul Smitz, who lives at Liberty Tower on Collins St, launched a petition calling on the Victorian Government to address the air pollution issues within the station.

The petition received close to 600 signatures and was tabled in the Legislative Assembly in November. However, while Mr Smitz acknowledges that progress has been made to improve air quality, the lack of transparency around the data provided to the DTP is “frustrating”.

In February this year, the Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) threatened to shut down the station unless more was done to improve air quality by reducing the “toxic fumes” caused by diesel engines from trains and buses.

Employees rallied at Southern Cross Station in hazmat suits and masks to raise public awareness and demand action from their employers and other stakeholders.

State Secretary of the RTBU, Vik Sharma, said the union had attempted to engage with the company and the government about implementing new standards as soon as possible, rather than waiting until the new Safe Work Australia Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) came into effect in 2026.

“Failure to implement changes that drastically improve air quality at the station will leave us no option but to escalate the campaign,” he said. “This may include the need to shut down the station until a safe environment can be achieved.”

However, despite the data not yet being released, several operational initiatives have been implemented to mitigate emissions within Southern Cross Station.

V/Line endeavours to keep train idling times to a minimum and has been working to further reduce them where operationally possible. Over the past three years, there has been a regular phase-out of locomotive-operated services.

The new fleets will comprise diesel-electric VLocity trains, with the Albury, Bairnsdale, and Shepparton lines already using these trains. Services on the Warrnambool line are expected to be operated by VLocitys from April 2025.

The EPA, which is involved in the working group, has also been conducting air-quality monitoring outside office premises on the southern side of the station and above the roof structure.

The monitoring aims to inform and assist with potential improvements, and to date, the ambient air quality has remained “generally” within the “good” hourly air-quality category range, an EPA spokesperson confirmed. •