THE AFL will meet with Public Transport Victoria and other key stakeholders in the coming days, after the Victorian Government announced on Tuesday that Richmond Station will be affected by construction works for much of April.
The League is hopeful it will be able to minimise the impact on footy fans throughout a busy period in the sport's calendar, despite planned works affecting the availability of one of the closest train stations in relation to the MCG.
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Works on the new Metro Tunnel's South Yarra entrance will begin April 1 and will carry through until April 23, limiting the use of Richmond Station throughout that period.
Significant train lines – including the Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston and Sandringham lines – will not run through Richmond Station for much of April.
Buses will also replace trains on those four lines across the month, as well as on the Glen Waverley, Mernda, Gippsland and Geelong/Warrnambool lines.
The Belgrave, Lilydale and Alamein lines will not be affected by the works.
The limited availability of Richmond Station is set to significantly impact fans hoping to attend the traditional clash between Geelong and Hawthorn at the MCG.
It is tipped that around 75,000 supporters could attend that match.
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However, the Victorian Government has announced that V/Line trains running from Geelong, as well as the Sandringham line, will reopen through Richmond Station for that particular game.
There is a total of seven MCG games that fall in the 23-day construction period.
Other key fixtures including Melbourne's Friday night clash with Essendon, as well as the Grand Final rematch between Collingwood and West Coast, are also set to be affected.
In a release on Victorian premier Dan Andrews' website on Tuesday, the government warned footy fans to "allow extra time to get to matches at the MCG during April".
The release also confirmed that the free tram zone would be extended to the MCG for people attending all affected AFL games across that period.
"I urge passengers during this busy time to check and stay informed about changes to the network and plan ahead to avoid long delays," public transport minister Melissa Horne said.
MCG games affected by train works
Friday, April 5
Melbourne v Essendon, 7.50pm
Saturday, April 6
Collingwood v West Coast, 7.25pm
Sunday, April 7
Hawthorn v North Melbourne, 3.20pm
Friday, April 12
Collingwood v Western Bulldogs, 7.50pm
Saturday, April 13
Essendon v Brisbane, 2.10pm
Saturday, April 20
Melbourne v St Kilda, 4.35pm
Monday, April 22
Hawthorn v Geelong, 3.20pm
