Vic premier to consider airport monorail

It didn't work in Springfield and Sydney's was scrapped, too, but the Victorian premier says he'll consider a proposal to run a monorail from Melbourne Airport to the city.

The $1 billion monorail would be built high above the Tullamarine Freeway and connect the airport to either Southern Cross or Flinders Street station.

The plan is the brainchild of tourism infrastructure entrepreneur Peter O'Brien, who says it would be a high-tech alternative to a diesel train.

The monorail would be driverless and virtually silent, News Corp Australia reports.

The proposal set social media abuzz with references to a popular episode of The Simpsons in which the town of Springfield is conned into building a monorail, which fails on its first run, causing a near disaster.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said he had received a six-page proposal on the monorail and would have discussions with its proponents.

"We are always open to ideas as a government, but they need to be properly evaluated and properly considered," he told reporters in Geelong on Tuesday.

But Transport Minister Terry Mulder appeared to pour cold water on the idea, saying there was a lot more work to be done before the proposal got off the ground.

"They don't have a great history, these particular projects, and I've had them proposed to me in the past," he told Fairfax radio.

Opposition spokeswoman Jill Hennessy said a metro rail tunnel was needed before a link could be built to the airport.

Sydney's monorail had its final run in June 2013 before being pulled apart.

It was described by NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian as a fad and a white elephant.