The consultation process for Labor's $1.6 billion sky rail project was adequate, despite criticism from planning experts and residents, Premier Daniel Andrews says.

Speaking at the Chisholm Institute in Dandenong on Tuesday morning to announce that of the 2000 jobs created by the nine level crossing removals, 200 would be apprentices or graduate engineers, Mr Andrews defended his government's handling of the project.

"It is totally incorrect to assert that the elevated option was not discussed with the local community," Mr Andrews said. "It was."

Mr Andrews said there had been a "respectful" approach to affected residents with one-on-one talks with authorities.

"We are going to see less noise, not more. We are going to see more privacy, not less. And we are going to see a rusty and dangerous corridor transformed."

Local residents claim they had no idea that 9 metre high rail flyovers would be built to replace level crossings along the Cranbourne-Pakenham rail corridor.

Murrumbeena residents Karlee Browning and Tracey Bigg attend a protest against a proposed elevated railway line. Photo: Penny Stephens

The Planning Institute has also criticised the process.

The government has also confirmed that the project was not sent to Infrastructure Victoria for scrutiny because it was an election commitment and that the body was only established in the second half of 2015.

"We are not waiting around for years and years for endless studies on this, these nine level crossing have cost lives," the Premier said.

As part of the project to remove nine level crossings along the Cranbourne-Pakenham rail corridor, a partnership has been struck between the government and the Chisholm Institute to help build skills for the project and help retrain retrenched car industry workers.

Local senior high school students will also have access to the construction-based projects.

Disruption will also be limited on the project because much of the sky rail will be prefabricated, saving two million passenger trips and congestion, the Premier said.

"We can do this quicker and much easier, and we can avoid enormous disruption to the busy train line in our city but also have much less impact on those houses and properties that neighbour the Dandenong line," he said.

"We're creating 2000 jobs, and our skills guarantee means that at least 200 of them will be apprentices and engineering graduates."

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said locals were upset because there had not been proper consultation about the sky rail.

"If the local people along the Dandenong corridor thought that there'd been adequate consultation there wouldn't be thousands of them rallying against the sky rail proposal spontaneously," he said.

The news came as the Public Transport Users Association highlighted that the Liberal Party's anti-sky rail website DoubleCrossed was originally set up as a site for people to sign a petition for local level crossings to be removed.

On Caulfield MP David Southwick's website a post calling for the Glen Huntly Rd level crossing to be removed directs voters to sign the petition via a link to the doublecrossed website.

"We suspect a lot of people would agree the Glen Huntly Road level crossing needs to be removed, and would willingly sign a petition in support. But many may be less willing to join the Liberals in outright condemning elevated rail solutions - particularly given sky rail might be the only practical way of removing that crossing, as the suburb sits on reclaimed swampland,' PTUA spokesman Daniel Bowen said.