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The Metro Tunnel (previously known during planning as the Melbourne Metro Rail Project) is a metropolitan rail infrastructure project currently under construction in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
, Australia. It includes the construction of twin 9-kilometre rail tunnels between
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
(north west of the
Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...
) and
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...
(in the south east) with five new underground stations. The tunnel will connect the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines with the
Sunbury line The Sunbury Line (formerly known as Sunbury Subdivision) is a rail line owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway which in turn is owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. The line travels from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to Binghamton, New Yo ...
, creating a new cross-city line that bypasses
Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
and the
City Loop The City Loop (originally called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a mostly-underground and partly surface-level subway and rail system in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Loop includes t ...
. From 2029 the line will also serve
Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia. It opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is ...
via a new branch line west of Sunshine station. The project will allow for the operational separation of various existing lines on Melbourne's rail network and increase the capacity of the system to allow for metro-style frequencies. The Metro Tunnel project includes the installation of high-capacity signalling and platform-screen doors. With the delivery of other associated projects including accessibility upgrades, the introduction of
High Capacity Metro Trains The High Capacity Metro Train (HCMT) is a type of electric multiple unit (EMU) train for use by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Melbourne rail network. The first train set entered service on 27 December 2020 and will become the primary rolling st ...
, and the removal of all level crossing across the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury lines, will allow the corridor to run to
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
standards. The
State government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
began planning in 2015 and enabling works commenced in early 2017. Sections of the
Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...
, including
City Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
and parts of
Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertical ...
, were closed to enable construction of the tunnel and stations. Tunnelling began in 2019 and was completed in 2021. The project was originally expected to be completed in 2026, but has now been brought forward to 2025. The project is being delivered by Rail Projects Victoria, formerly the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, at an estimated cost of $9 to $11 billion.


Background

Melbourne's original development occurred at a time when railway technology began to emerge as a feasible and efficient mode of transit. This led to a symbiotic relationship between the CBD and the rail network which grew to surround it. An almost purely radial system of lines, developed largely before 1930, linked the growing suburbs to the economic hub of the city centre, producing a system which supported the daily flow of passengers into and out of the city to access employment opportunities. Despite the increasingly car-oriented developments of the mid-20th century, the suburban rail lines in Melbourne continued to discourage any
decentralisation Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...
of employment, leaving the city unusually dependent on its central core when compared to cities of similar size globally. The first underground rail line to be built in Melbourne was the
City Loop The City Loop (originally called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a mostly-underground and partly surface-level subway and rail system in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Loop includes t ...
, which began construction in 1971 and opened gradually between 1981 and 1985. Among its aims were to reduce pressure on
Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
by distributing passengers to three additional stations in the city centre (
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
, Melbourne Central, Flagstaff), and to improve the capacity of the networks central core by eliminating the need for trains to change direction after terminating at Flinders Street. However, it was not entirely successful in achieving these aims. The four tunnels of the Loop proved to be a capacity constraint on the ten main railway lines entering the CBD, and the peculiarities of operating four single-direction
balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...
s meant that inner-city rapid transit was difficult for passengers. At the same time, the Loop consumed much of the available
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
available for investment in the city's rail system. As a result, the extensions to the outer suburban network which had been envisaged as a succession to the Loop itself did not eventuate. Meanwhile, patronage on the network had entered a long period of decline, which culminated in the
Lonie Report The Victorian Transport Study, better known as the Lonie Report, was an extensive study of freight and passenger transport within the state of Victoria, Australia. The study was set up on 13 June 1979 by the Government of Victoria, and the report ...
of 1980 recommending the closure of several lines. The need for an overhaul of the existing commuter rail network was first discussed in the early 2000s as unprecedented population growth began to place significant pressure on existing rail infrastructure and constraints on the inner core of the network as it approached capacity. Other problems faced by the network in the first decade of the 21st century included inefficient operations which had developed during years of low patronage, and a loss of
corporate memory Organizational memory (OM) (sometimes called institutional or corporate memory) is the accumulated body of data, information, and knowledge created in the course of an organization's existence. The concept of organizational memory includes the id ...
, caused in part by the
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
of rail services in the late 1990s, which limited the flexibility of planners in dealing with the burgeoning passenger numbers. Consequently, a large number of services were experiencing major overcrowding in peak periods. A series of planning documents released during the early 2000s, including ''
Melbourne 2030 The Metropolitan Strategy Melbourne 2030 is a Victorian Government strategic planning policy framework for the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, intended to cover the period 2001–2030. During this period the population of the metropolita ...
'' (2002), ''Linking Melbourne'' (2004) and ''Meeting Our Transport Challenges'' (2006) identified that significant capacity constraints existed in the central core and on the Dandenong corridor, but did not propose any significant capital works in the city centre, instead suggesting that the issues could be resolved by relatively minor operational changes and construction of a third track to Dandenong. Outside the state government, support grew for a more substantial augmentation of the rail network, with many such ideas based on new underground lines through the CBD. In 2005, ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' reported that it had received a number of proposals from planning experts and engineers for rail "loops and arcs" in the central city, and publicised a plan published by
Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has ...
professor Graham Currie for a tunnel between the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...
to the north of the city and South Yarra station to the south-east. Currie's plan also envisaged extensive improvements to the
Melbourne tram network Trams are a major form of public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. As of May 2017, the Melbourne tramway network consists of of double track, 493 trams, 24 routes, and 1,763 tram stops. The sys ...
, including upgrading lines along
St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, i ...
and
Chapel Street Chapel Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, running along the inner suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, St Kilda and St Kilda East. Route Chapel Street is essentially straight and runs for over 4.14 kilometres along an approxim ...
to light rail standards. In 2006, the state government considered a plan to construct a combined road and rail tunnel beneath the
Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...
to provide an alternative to the
West Gate Bridge The West Gate Bridge is a steel, box girder, cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, spanning the Yarra River just north of its mouth into Port Phillip. It carries the West Gate Freeway and is a vital link between the inner ci ...
, but the idea was deemed unfeasible. By 2007, the planned third track to Dandenong was effectively abandoned, with no money provided for the project in that year's state budget, and opposition growing from the
Public Transport Users Association The Public Transport Users Association is a community-based public transport lobby group in Victoria, Australia, based in Melbourne. It is run entirely by volunteers and has no full-time staff. History and aims The organisation was founded ...
and others. Later that year, it emerged that train operator Connex and coordinating authority
Metlink Metlink was the marketing body and umbrella brand for public train, tram and bus transport operators in Melbourne, Australia. On 2 April 2012, the operations of Metlink were transferred to the newly created public transport planning and manag ...
were among stakeholders encouraging the government to consider a proposal similar to Currie's, but extended to Footscray in the city's west.
Melbourne City Council The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The c ...
, on the other hand, proposed a tunnel conceptually similar to the Currie plan, but running from Jewell station in the north to
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
in the south-east.


History


Early planning

In 2008, transport planner Sir
Rod Eddington Sir Roderick Ian Eddington AO FTSE (born 2 January 1950) is an Australian businessman. He was first appointed to the board of News Corporation in 1999, still serves on News Corp board and also serves on the board of another of Rupert Murdoch' ...
handed down the findings of a report into Melbourne's east–west transport needs, following a commission by the Brumby Government. The Eddington Report recommended two key projects in the city centre: an East West Link road tunnel providing an alternative cross-town route to the
West Gate Bridge The West Gate Bridge is a steel, box girder, cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, spanning the Yarra River just north of its mouth into Port Phillip. It carries the West Gate Freeway and is a vital link between the inner ci ...
, and a rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield via the CBD. According to Eddington, the tunnel would increase the capacity of the central rail network by removing some trains from the City Loop, allowing future extensions to the suburban lines. In December that year, the project was incorporated into the government's
Victorian Transport Plan The Victorian Transport Plan is a now defunct transport planning framework for the state of Victoria, Australia announced on 9 December 2008 by then Premier of Victoria, John Brumby. The plan was submitted to the Government of Australia for fund ...
, to be built in two stages: the first from Footscray to St Kilda Road, and the second along the rest of the route. Following the 2010 Victorian election, the newly elected Baillieu Government abandoned the Brumby transport plan, and announced that each of the projects would be individually reviewed, some by the newly created
Public Transport Development Authority Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victoria, respon ...
. Then, in its 2012 budget, the government announced a revised version of the tunnel plan: a "Melbourne Metro" from
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
to
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...
along a similar city centre route to Eddington's original proposal. The revised project included five underground stations, and was submitted to
Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body providing independent research and advice to all levels of government and industry on projects and reforms relating to investment in Australian infrastructure. It advocates for reforms on ...
where it was deemed "ready to proceed" and was listed as the highest-priority infrastructure project in Melbourne. A business case was quickly developed based on the constraints of the existing rail system, which was rapidly approaching its maximum capacity. The
Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
commenced geotechnical drillings and route investigations. A dispute between the federal and state government over the funding for the tunnel intensified in 2013, with the approach of that year's federal election. The state budget in early May revealed that none of the $50 million in planning money allocated the previous year had been spent, with new premier
Denis Napthine Denis Vincent Napthine (born 6 March 1952) is a former Australian politician who was the 47th Premier of Victoria. Napthine was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Portland fro ...
deferring the project in favour of the East West Link. Despite this, with the release of the 2013 federal budget a week later, the government Gillard government committed $3 billion to the project on the condition that the state match the contribution. The remaining money was to be raised by a public-private partnership, with the possibility that the contractor could take over running of the line in addition to its construction. However, federal opposition leader
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...
declared that if he was elected in the 2013 federal election, no Commonwealth money would be spent on urban passenger rail, and that any commitment to the Melbourne Metro tunnel project would be revoked. Meanwhile,
Public Transport Victoria Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victoria, respo ...
's
Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail The Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail is a long-term development plan for the rail network of Melbourne, Australia. It was carried out by Public Transport Victoria (PTV) and released to the public on 27 March 2013 however, a revised versio ...
(NDPMR), released in early 2013, identified the Metro Tunnel as the centrepiece of a 20-year strategy for improving the Melbourne suburban rail network. The then CEO of Public Transport Victoria Ian Dobbs argued that any expansion of the system was "impossible" without vastly improved capacity in the core of the network. The NDPMR envisaged the tunnel's construction taking place from 2017 to 2022, enabling the segregation of the rail system into four independently operated lines, each with their own routes through the CBD. It also outlined a service plan for the tunnel, proposing an initial
peak hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
flow of 8 trains per hour in each direction.


Alternate route

In February the following year, the state government announced that it was considering alternative alignments for the tunnel, because of concerns that
cut and cover A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
construction in
Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertical ...
would result in a massive disruption to traffic and retail activity for an extended period of time. At the launch of its 2014 budget, the Napthine government announced that the Metro Tunnel project would be abandoned and replaced with an alternative proposal called the "Melbourne Rail Link". The MRL route consisted of a tunnel from South Yarra to
Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...
via
Kings Domain Kings Domain is an area of parklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It surrounds Government House Reserve, the home of the governors of Victoria, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and the Shrine Reserve incorporating the Shrine of Remembrance. ...
and
Fishermans Bend Fishermans Bend (formerly Fishermen's Bend) is a precinct within the City of Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne. It is located on the south of the Yarra River in the suburb of Port Melbourne and opposite Coode Island, close to the Melbourne ...
, where it would join existing City Loop tunnels reconfigured for
bidirectional traffic In transportation infrastructure, a bidirectional traffic system divides travellers into two streams of traffic that flow in opposite directions. In the design and construction of tunnels, bidirectional traffic can markedly affect ventilation con ...
. Furthermore, the government promised that the realignment would enable a Melbourne Airport rail link to be constructed from Southern Cross at the same time. Ultimately, the reconfiguration of the rail network was to have produced similar operational outcomes as the Melbourne Metro plan, with a Sunbury-Dandenong corridor operating directly between Southern Cross and Flinders Street in both directions, but with an additional end-to-end line from Frankston to Ringwood via the new tracks. According to government ministers, the Melbourne Rail Link offered greater capacity increases and less disruption during the construction phase than existing plans. However, it was heavily criticised, including by
Lord Mayor of Melbourne This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Melbourne, a local government area of Victoria, Australia. Mayors (1842–1902) Lord mayors (1902–1980) The title of "Lord Mayor" was conferred on the position of mayor by Ki ...
Robert Doyle, who described the route change as a potential "100-year catastrophe" because of its failure to service the Parkville medical and research precinct. Furthermore, the government revealed in the days following the budget that it had not produced a
business case A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also come in the form of a short verbal agreement or presentation. The logic of the business case is that ...
for its plan, and that the decision had been taken primarily on the basis of a "common sense" need to service its urban redevelopment project at Fishermans Bend. Other concerns emerged in the months following the budget, with experts publicly questioning whether the Napthine government had committed sufficient funding, and whether the proposed tunnels could be engineered to successfully avoid the main Melbourne sewer.


Andrews government proposal

By November, with the state election approaching, the rail tunnel had become a major point of contention in the campaign, with the government prioritising the East West Link (EWL) road tunnel rather than the rail tunnel. Then
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
opposition
Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...
promised that "under no circumstances" would it build the EWL if elected. As an alternative, Labor proposed reinstating the original Metro Tunnel plan, which retained the support of senior public servants in the
Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure The Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure (DTPLI) was a department of the Government of Victoria. It was created in machinery of government changes in 2013 following Denis Napthine's appointment as premier, and was abolished ...
. According to their analysis, the original tunnel route performed substantially better than the EWL in a cost-benefits analysis, but no such calculation had been performed for the new Melbourne Rail Link. On the eve of the election, it emerged that the Abbott federal government had redirected $3 billion in funding to the EWL, and that they would refuse to allow it to be used for the Melbourne Metro project. A Labor state government under Premier
Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...
was elected the following day, and immediately set about cancelling contracts for the EWL. At the same time however, new Treasurer
Tim Pallas Timothy Hugh Pallas (born 7 January 1960) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Tarneit until 2014 and Werribee thereafter. He has served ...
conceded that it would be "difficult" to deliver the Metro Tunnel given the complexities of the funding dispute. In February 2015, the Andrews government announced $40 million in immediate funding to establish the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, in order to commence detailed planning work along the original route, and promised a further $300 million in its upcoming budget. It also revealed that a $3 billion
line of credit A line of credit is a credit facility extended by a bank or other financial institution to a government, business or individual customer that enables the customer to draw on the facility when the customer needs funds. A line of credit takes s ...
originally established to fund the EWL would be redirected to the Melbourne Metro project. A timeline was provided, with construction expected to commence in 2018 and the tunnel to be open in 2026. Meanwhile, the federal government continued to refuse to fund the project, which led some observers to describe Andrews' commitment as a "significant political risk".


Funding

On 15 April 2015 the government announced that the MMRA had selected a route along Swanston Street as the preferred alignment for the project. The announcement revealed that routes under Elizabeth Street and Russell Street had been considered but were rejected on the basis of engineering difficulties and lack of connectivity respectively. For similar reasons, the route selected along Swanston Street was a shallow tunnel above the City Loop and
CityLink CityLink is a network of tollways in Melbourne, Australia, linking the Tullamarine, West Gate and Monash Freeways and incorporating Bolte Bridge, Burnley Tunnel and other works. In 1996, Transurban was awarded the contract to augment two ex ...
tunnels, at a depth of , and was therefore to be constructed using cut-and-cover methods. The announcement was criticised by representatives of city retailers, who claimed that the disruption would cause damage to their businesses. The government acknowledged massive changes to city access but assured retailers they would be treated fairly. Further concerns about the proposed route emerged when it emerged that the tunnel would not connect to South Yarra station and that the Pakenham and Cranbourne services would bypass the station entirely once the tunnel opened. Discussions about the funding of the project continued into late April. The state government acknowledged that the Abbott federal government would not make any contribution to the project, but stated that it remained "hopeful" a future federal government would change the policy. Towards the end of the month, the Andrews government announced that $1.5 billion would be allocated in the upcoming state Budget for the full cost of pre-construction works, land and property acquisition, and detailed route investigations, on top of the already announced money for planning. Among the work funded was the drilling of 140 bore holes to establish ground conditions along the route. However, questions remained about the state government's capacity to fund the remainder of the project, and it was reported that no business case had been completed, despite this being Labor's key objection to the Melbourne Rail Link plan when in opposition. A levy on land tax for commercial properties benefiting from the tunnel, similar to that used on the City Loop and on the contemporary London
Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...
project, was proposed as one possible solution. At the same time the funding announcement was made, the MMRA announced it had appointed technical and planning advisors for the project.


Detailed planning

After the state Budget in May, details gradually emerged of the revised business case for the tunnel, including specific routes and tunnel options. The government ruled out an interchange to the existing railway station at
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...
because of its expense, a move criticised by opposition parties and public transport advocates. Investigative drilling along Swanston Street began in early June, with the government announcing later in June that negotiations with the financiers of the cancelled EWL had concluded, enabling the $3 billion credit facility to be redirected to the Metro Tunnel. In August,
tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore thro ...
s were announced as the preferred engineering option for the sections of the project under the Yarra River. The September federal Liberal leadership spill, which saw
Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...
replace Abbott as prime minister, led to new hope for federal funding of the project when Turnbull announced he would consider all transport projects on their merits through
Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body providing independent research and advice to all levels of government and industry on projects and reforms relating to investment in Australian infrastructure. It advocates for reforms on ...
. In October 2015, the government announced it had abandoned earlier plans to run the tunnel 10 metres beneath Swanston Street and above the existing City Loop tunnels and instead place parts of the project 40 metres underground between CBD North and CBD South stations. The decision was made to reduce the disruption to trams services and traders along
Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertical ...
and to avoid removing critical utilities, such as telecommunication lines, from beneath the street. The cost of the change was disputed, with the government claiming the additional tunnelling expense would be met by the savings of services remaining in place, but opposition parties arguing the change could be up to $1 billion more expensive. With the key engineering details in place, the scope of the project and its associated disruptions gradually became public. The government first announced in October it would compulsorily acquire the properties of 63 households and 31 businesses at several locations on the tunnel route. Later, in November, road closures for up to five years were announced near construction sites, and specific station designs were released for the first time. The first package of works, a $300 million contract for site preparation and services relocation, was opened for tenders by MMRA on 25 November. In February 2016, the full business case for the project was released which detailed its design. Early that year, geotechnical drilling was extended to the
Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...
, as political arguments continued over the Metro Tunnel's funding arrangements. Having selected a public-private partnership model based on long-term maintenance and commercial opportunities for investment, and with a new business case released publicly, the state government continued to request a significant federal contribution, but the Turnbull government said it would not consider the project until it had been independently analysed by
Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body providing independent research and advice to all levels of government and industry on projects and reforms relating to investment in Australian infrastructure. It advocates for reforms on ...
. Despite the ongoing dispute, a shortlist of bidders was announced in late February for the early works package, and the construction timeline continued to suggest a 2016 start to works. In the 2016 state budget, Premier Daniel Andrews and his
Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...
Tim Pallas Timothy Hugh Pallas (born 7 January 1960) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Tarneit until 2014 and Werribee thereafter. He has served ...
declared that the state would bear the entire cost of the project in lieu of federal funds, using a combination of increased revenues from a strong property market, and an increase to the states net debt over the following decade. The federal budget released in 2016 did however include $857 million redirected from other infrastructure projects to the tunnel, however, the funds did not represent additional support to Victoria but rather a reallocation of existing contributions.


Contracting

In June 2016, the
John Holland Group The John Holland Group is an infrastructure, building, rail and transport business operating in Australia and New Zealand. Headquartered in Melbourne, it is a subsidiary of China Communications Construction. History The company was founded in ...
was awarded a $324 million contract which includes the excavation of 35 metre deep open shafts adjacent to Swanston Street to enable the underground construction of the two new city stations, and the relocation of up to 100 subterranean utilities. Utility relocations started in July 2016. A shortlist of preferred bidders for the project's main contract, the "tunnel and stations" public-private partnership, was released in August, along with further details of the MMRA's recommended engineering solutions. The bidders were three consortia composed of engineering, construction and finance companies: Continuum Victoria, consisting Acciona Infrastructure, Ferrovial Agroman,
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
,
Downer Rail Downer Rail is a business unit within the Downer Group. As well as manufacturing and maintaining railway rolling stock it holds maintenance contracts to maintain rail infrastructure. The head office is located in North Ryde. History The E ...
, and
Plenary Group Plenary Group is an Australian infrastructure investment business specialising in public–private partnerships. It was founded in 2004 by three former ABN Amro employees, with Deutsche Bank taking a 20% shareholding. Operations Projects which ...
; Moving Melbourne Together, made up of Pacific Partnerships,
CPB Contractors CIMIC Group Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings) is an Australian construction contractor. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries ...
, Ghella,
Salini Impregilo Webuild SpA (formerly Salini Impregilo SpA) () is an Italian industrial group specialised in the construction and civil engineering business headquartered in Milan. The company was formally founded in 2014 as the result of the merger by incorporat ...
,
Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, ...
, and
Macquarie Capital Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia's ...
; and Cross Yarra Partnership, including
Lendlease Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was estab ...
, John Holland,
Bouygues Bouygues S.A. () is a French industrial group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip in the CAC 40 stock market index. The company was founded in 1952 by F ...
, and Capella Capital. At the same time, the MMRA exercised its powers of
compulsory acquisition Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
to acquire
City Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
from the City of Melbourne, ahead of the original schedule. Over the following months, further details of the construction process were made public, including long-term road closures and the precise location of construction sites. The revelations included the MMRA's concerns about the impact of tunneling on the structural integrity of CBD buildings, including
Federation Square Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...
and
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...
. In December 2017, the Government of Victoria selected the Cross Yarra Partnership to deliver the "tunnel and stations" public-private partnership.


Construction


Early works

On 15 January 2017, works officially began on the project, with the partial closure of A'Beckett and Franklin streets in the CBD. Local media noted that the commencement marked almost precisely a decade since the project's inception. The news was followed by Infrastructure Australia releasing a positive assessment of the project's business case and urging the federal government to contribute funding to the tunnel. Meanwhile, a case was lodged in the
Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...
by protest groups in an attempt to force the government and MMRA to reroute the project around the St Kilda Road precinct. Objections to the tunnel's construction were strengthened in February, when the federal government implemented an emergency heritage protection order for the precinct, preventing the MMRA from removing around 100 trees. The Victorian government decried the move as a political stunt, and insisted that the project would go ahead as planned. At the same time, the Liberal state opposition attempted to grant the
City of Stonnington The City of Stonnington is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner south-eastern suburbs, between , from the Melbourne CBD. The city covers an area of . Within twenty years o ...
planning powers over the project with a motion in state parliament, in order to force the inclusion of a South Yarra station connection, but eventually withdrew when sufficient support could not be secured in the Legislative Council. A major milestone was reached in mid-April when City Square was fenced off for the commencement of construction and staging works. A few days later, the government announced that bids for the major construction contract had been received from each of the consortia selected on the previous year's shortlist. Cross Yarra Partnership, led by
Lendlease Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was estab ...
, was named as the "preferred bidder" for the construction contract in July. The station designs presented by the consortium were released publicly, as well as details of connections to existing stations and streetscapes. Shortly afterwards, Bombardier was announced as the successful tenderer for the signalling and communication systems contract, and supplied plans to build signal control centres in Sunshine and Dandenong. The contract, including a rollout of high-capacity signalling (HCS) between Watergardens and Dandenong, was the first awarded in Australia for HCS implementation on existing rail lines. At the end of August, the state government launched a public naming competition for the tunnel's five new stations, to replace the working names used since the project's genesis. The competition provoked a wide public response, with arguments over whether the names should reflect geographic location, cultural heritage, or tongue-in-cheek references such as Station McStationface. By the time the competition closed at the end of October, more than 50,000 submissions had been made, and the project had gained international attention with author George R. R. Martin commenting on suggestions that the stations be named after locations from his
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...
series of books. However, the government emphasised that the competition was not to be judged by popular demand but by a panel of experts. The selected names for the stations – North Melbourne, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac – were announced in November of that year, with the government deciding on "common sense" options based on geographic location and ease of pronunciation. The existing North Melbourne station was to be renamed West Melbourne, but in early 2020 the government announced the existing station would not be renamed and the new station would revert to Arden, due to the potential for confusion and the need to relabel thousands of signalling assets.


Major construction

The public profile of tunnel works increased through the end of 2017, with Lord Mayor Robert Doyle complaining that the City of Melbourne's pest controllers were being overwhelmed by rats disturbed by underground works. A public viewing platform was established at the City Square building site for the public to view the construction works. On 18 December, the state government announced that it had finalised its contract with Cross Yarra Partnership, with a value of some $6 billion. Opposition leader
Matthew Guy Matthew Jason Guy (born 6 March 1974) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia Member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006, representing Northern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council (2006–2014) ...
immediately signalled his intention to bring the dispute over the tunnel's design to the 2018 state election, writing to CYP to indicate that he would seek to include a station at South Yarra should his party win government the following year. Despite ongoing legal battles, tree felling in the St Kilda Road precinct began in February 2018, marking the commencement of significant construction in the area and the consortium's commitment to its design solution for the tunnel. Then, on 20 February, the state government released the tunnel contracts, and announced that the original completion date of 2026 had been brought forward to a new target of 2025. The announcement also included a response to the Opposition's intention to renegotiate the design, with Premier Daniel Andrews claiming it would mean a two-year delay to the overall project. In April, further concerns about the tunnel's impact on buildings near its route emerged, with managers of the
Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) is a multi-site, multi-disciplinary specialist cancer hospital and research centre located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The VCCC comprises an alliance between The University of Melbourne, t ...
in Parkville and the
Manchester Unity Building The Manchester Unity Building is an Art Deco Gothic inspired office and retail building in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, constructed in 1931–32 for the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows. The soaring stepped corner tower on a p ...
in the CBD, along with the University of Melbourne, making submissions to the MMRA suggesting their properties were at serious risk of damage from construction and operation vibration. The authority responded that it would work with stakeholders to minimise impacts and ensure the project did not produce any adverse impacts. In the same month, the state government announced an upgrade of South Yarra station separate from the Metro Tunnel, in order to address the concerns about its lack of connectivity to the project. Following a series of announcements of major rail projects prior to the state budget in May, the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority was renamed to Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) to reflect its involvement in projects outside the Metro Tunnel. Final designs and concept images for the new stations were released in May 2018, using materials and features intended to reflect the character of the five station precincts. CYP, RPV and Minister for Public Transport
Jacinta Allan Jacinta Marie Allan (born 19 September 1973) is an Australian politician serving as the 29th and current Deputy Premier of Victoria, deputy premier of Victoria since June 2022. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Vi ...
expressed their hope that the designs would be accepted and integrated into the Melbourne landscape as new cultural icons following their completion. In June, the state government released modelling demonstrating the project's contribution to improved accessibility in the CBD, with travel time savings from virtually all parts of Greater Melbourne to the Parkville and St Kilda Road areas served by the Metro Tunnel.


Tunnelling

In April, June, and July 2019, multiple rail lines in Melbourne's east were shut down for several weeks to allow construction of the tunnel entrances near Kensington and South Yarra. The first tunnel boring machine began to be assembled in North Melbourne in June 2019. In February 2020, TBM Joan completed the first section of the tunnel from Arden to Kensington, travelling 1.2 kilometres and installing 4,200 curved concrete segments to create 700 rings lining the walls of the tunnel. Two months later, TBM Meg completed the accompanying tunnel, from Arden to Kensington. The third TBM, TBM Millie, began tunnelling to the South Yarra eastern tunnel entrance on 27 April 2020. As part of this process, it was lowered underground and assembled along with its counterpart TBM Alice. It tunnelled 1.7 kilometres to its destination. TBM Alice was released a month later, on 25 May 2020. TBM Joan began tunnelling again, this time towards Parkville, from Arden, on 25 May 2020. The release of TBM Meg towards Parkville meant that for the first time in the project, all four TBMs were tunnelling at the same time. In May 2020, major traffic changes were put in place near
Flinders Street Station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
in order to improve safety around large trucks entering acoustic sheds as a part of the project. Left turns from St Kilda Road to Flinders Street were removed, and the pedestrian crossing between
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...
and
Federation Square Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...
was temporarily closed. The crossing will likely reopen in January 2022. On 24 May 2021, after 20 months of work, it was announced all four TBMs had completed digging the twin 9 km tunnels. Between all four TBMs, this averaged to a rate of 90m per week. The next phase of construction includes tunneling 26 cross passages (the short tunnels that connect the main tunnels for passengers should an incident occur). In mid-2022 crews began laying track in the tunnels.


Stations


Project description

The project will consist of two 9-kilometre rail tunnels between
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
and
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...
via the CBD with five new underground stations. A new cross-city metro style line will be created that runs from the north-west to the south-east of Melbourne, linking the
Sunbury line The Sunbury Line (formerly known as Sunbury Subdivision) is a rail line owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway which in turn is owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. The line travels from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to Binghamton, New Yo ...
with the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. From 2029, the line will also run to
Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia. It opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is ...
via the planned Melbourne Airport Rail link. The new line, like similar projects the
Elizabeth Line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to and via Whitechapel ...
,
Sydney Metro The Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit system serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Currently consisting of one line that opened on 26 May 2019, it runs from Tallawong to Chatswood and consists of 13 stat ...
and the
Paris RER Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, will be a hybrid commuter and rapid transit system, running a high-frequency rapid service in the inner city but also running trains to Melbourne's outer commuter suburbs. The five new city stations are underground and will feature 230m-long platforms, large concourses, and full-height platform-screen doors, a first for Melbourne. As part of the project, a new fleet of 65
High Capacity Metro Trains The High Capacity Metro Train (HCMT) is a type of electric multiple unit (EMU) train for use by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Melbourne rail network. The first train set entered service on 27 December 2020 and will become the primary rolling st ...
have been ordered to add further capacity to the network, the first of which entered service in 2020. These trains are the most advanced and highest capacity in Melbourne, and will run on the Metro Tunnel corridor as 7-car trains. They can be expanded to 10-car trains in the future with the new underground stations are long enough to accommodate the extended trains. A new stabling and maintenance depot was built in Pakenham East to house the new fleet. Three of the new stations – Arden, Parkville, and
Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...
– are cut-and-cover box designs, and involved digging down to build the station. The two CBD stations –
State Library A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...
and
Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
– are mined stations beneath
Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertical ...
, built using a unique "trinocular" construction method of three overlapping caverns dug by road headers and featuring high ceilings, an arched vault design and 19m wide platforms. With the exception of Arden, all of the stations feature multiple entrances. Anzac features a direct tram-train interchange with a large wooden canopy, while Arden will anchor a major urban renewal project in Melbourne's inner north. The two CBD stations will feature large
transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship between ...
and retail. As part of the project, a new third turnback platform will be built at West Footscray station. High capacity signalling in the form of moving-block communication-based signalling technology will be installed along the Metro Tunnel corridor and on the Airport branch to allow trains every two minutes. This is the first time high-capacity signalling has been installed on a legacy rail corridor in Australia. Station platforms were also extended along the corridor to allow for the new trains. Along with the Metro Tunnel project works, there are a number of associated infrastructure projects by the Victorian Government to upgrade the corridor, and the wider rail system in Melbourne, to
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
standards. The Sunbury Line Upgrade project, announced in the 2019 state budget, is upgrading the corridor from the tunnel to Sunbury and includes: platform extensions, accessibility upgrades, power and substation upgrades, new train stabling, and the removal of all level crossings on the Sunbury line to allow for High Capacity Metro Trains. The Cranbourne Line Upgrade is removing all remaining level crossings along the Cranbourne line, and has duplicated 8 km of track to allow higher frequency services on the branch. An extension of the Cranbourne line to
Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
is also planned, though has not yet been funded by the government. The Level Crossing Removal Project has removed a number of other level crossings on the future Metro Tunnel corridor, including several on the Pakenham line and nine level crossings between Caulfield and
Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainl ...
, in which four stations were rebuilt and 9 km of elevated rail constructed in 2017. The Pakenham line will also be extended a short distance, with a new station built at Pakenham East near the new rail depot for the line. This new station is being delivered by the Level Crossing Removal Project. Together these projects will establish a fully grade-separated corridor with high-capacity signalling capable of running frequent services through the new tunnel. According to the project's business case, it will allow an extra 39,000 passengers to travel in the peak period each day, with a further 41,000 extra passengers if 10-car trains are introduced.


Stations

The project involves construction of five new underground railway stations:


Arden

Arden station is to be located near the intersection of Arden and Laurens Streets in
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
. It is planned to allow for urban renewal of the formerly industrial suburb, and is expected to serve some 25,000 residents once complete. The station entrance will be located on Laurens Street, between Queensberry and Arden streets to provide direct access to existing residential, retail and commercial areas east of Laurens Street. Provision will be made for an additional entrance at the western end of the station to service the Arden area as it develops in the future. Arden Station will be within walking distance of the North Melbourne Recreation Centre,
Arden Street Oval Arden Street Oval (also known as North Melbourne Cricket Ground) is a sports oval in North Melbourne, Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is currently the training base of the North Melbourne Football Club, an Australia ...
and the existing route 57 tram.


Parkville

Parkville station is to be located on the intersection of Grattan Street and Royal Parade in Parkville, in proximity to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and
Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...
. The station will relieve pressure on north–south tram routes and the congested 401 bus service between
North Melbourne station North Melbourne railway station is the junction for the Craigieburn, Flemington Racecourse, Sunbury, Upfield, Werribee and Williamstown lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the inner-city Melbourne suburb of West Melbourne, and opene ...
and the university/hospital precinct. New tram stops are to be constructed as part of the project allowing for seamless tram and train interchanges. The station will service the busy hospital and research precinct, including the
Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) is a multi-site, multi-disciplinary specialist cancer hospital and research centre located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The VCCC comprises an alliance between The University of Melbourne, t ...
. The station is expected to service 60,000 passengers each day in 2031.


State Library

State Library station is to be located on the intersection of Swanston and La Trobe Streets in the Melbourne CBD above the existing Melbourne Central station. This will allow for interchange opportunities between stations and existing lines and relieve pressure on Swanston Street tram routes. The station will service the northern end of the CBD, as well as the
State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...
and
RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scien ...
. The line will continue under Swanston Street running below the existing City Loop tunnels. The station will serve up to 40,000 passengers once complete.


Town Hall

Town Hall station is to be located on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets, with direct connections to
Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
, adding further relief to tram services and servicing the southern end of the CBD. The station will be near
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...
, the Arts Precinct, Southbank and
Federation Square Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...
and have exits on Collins Street. The line will proceed south running below the
Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...
and the
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...
and
Domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined ** Domain of definition of a partial function ** Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function * ...
tunnels. The station is expected to serve some 55,000 passengers during peak periods.


Anzac

Anzac station is to be located on
St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, i ...
and Park Streets adjacent to the
Domain Interchange The Anzac Station tram stop, formerly but still colloquially known as Domain Interchange, is a major interchange on the Trams in Melbourne, Melbourne tram network. It is located on St Kilda Road south of Domain Road, adjacent to Kings Domain, a ...
, with interchange opportunities with existing St Kilda Road tram services. The station will service the
Shrine of Remembrance The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but ...
, the busy St Kilda Road office precinct, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens and Melbourne Grammar School. The station is expected to serve approximately 14,500 passengers during peak periods.


Analysis and criticism


Network capacity

The primary stated aim of the project is to increase capacity within the inner core of the metropolitan network, as well as improving reliability and efficiency. It aims to accomplish this by creating a single, end-to-end metropolitan line between Sunshine railway station, Melbourne, Sunshine in the west and
Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainl ...
in the south-east, linking the existing Sunbury railway line, Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines and providing them with a dedicated city centre route. Because this re-routing removes services from two City Loop tunnels, more capacity will theoretically be available for the Werribee railway line, Werribee, Williamstown railway line, Williamstown, Craigieburn railway line, Craigieburn, Upfield railway line, Upfield, Frankston railway line, Frankston and Sandringham railway line, Sandringham lines. According to official project estimates, the result is a total capacity increase of 39,000 passengers in the city centre for each peak period. However, the need for a new tunnel to increase capacity has been subject to criticism that capacity on the existing network is under utilised or hamstrung by operational inefficiencies, since the project was originally proposed in Eddington's report. Paul Mees in 2008 noted that the claim the new tunnel would allow 40 extra trains per hour through the city should be compared to an increase of 56 trains per hour by increasing line capacity to 24 trains per hour per line (80% of the theoretical 30 trains per hour allowed by the current signalling system), reducing dwell times and other efficiencies such as terminating some trains at
Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
rather than Southern Cross railway station, Southern Cross station. Mees also criticised the proposal for absorbing rail investment at the expense of extending the network at its periphery. On the other hand, transport economist Chris Hale has argued that while the capacity increase offered by the tunnel is real and probably more significant than that offered by incremental upgrades to the existing network, the project is the product of poor planning processes in the Victorian transport bureaucracy and consequently reflects a "single-issue" approach to infrastructure which is inconsistent with contemporary best practice. Hale contends that the tunnel's route, which reinforces existing transport networks and focuses on the inner city as the single connection point of all transport, exemplifies outmoded thinking and, therefore, achieves its primary aims while failing to accomplish more extensive benefits for a similar cost. Ultimately, the business case for the Metro Tunnel considered high-capacity signalling and other network upgrades as alternatives to the proposed route. It concluded that, when compared to the tunnel, upgrading to HCS would produce inferior outcomes because of its limited capacity benefits and its failure to integrate improvement of the existing network with service to new parts of the central city. Additionally, the business case noted that by making incremental upgrades to the rail system without substantially altering its structure, the opportunity for more reliable operations as a result of fully segregated lines would be lost.


Swanston Street tram services

With the proposed route expected to run directly under Swanston Street and towards the south-eastern suburbs, the project will provide much needed relief to existing and overcrowded tram services that run from
St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, i ...
into the CBD. Currently, St Kilda Road is the busiest tram thoroughfare in the world, with up to 10 tram routes running into the CBD via Swanston Street. The Melbourne Metro is expected to relieve this pressure by allowing commuters to catch the train into the
Domain Interchange The Anzac Station tram stop, formerly but still colloquially known as Domain Interchange, is a major interchange on the Trams in Melbourne, Melbourne tram network. It is located on St Kilda Road south of Domain Road, adjacent to Kings Domain, a ...
and CBD from either the north-west or south-eastern suburbs, avoiding already congested tram routes. In particular, many of the existing tram routes that run through St Kilda Road terminate at Melbourne University tram stop, Melbourne University, which will be more easily accessible from the nearby Parkville station when the Melbourne Metro is complete. Concerns existed over expected disruption along the Swanston Street corridor, with former Premier
Denis Napthine Denis Vincent Napthine (born 6 March 1952) is a former Australian politician who was the 47th Premier of Victoria. Napthine was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Portland fro ...
controversially describing the alignment of the tunnel as akin to the Berlin Wall, which would "tear the city in half for up to two years". However, changes to engineering and construction plans allowed for tunneling, rather than the 'cut and cover' method of construction, resulting in minimal disruption for trams, pedestrians and traders along Swanston Street during construction.


Further network expansion

In 2012,
Public Transport Victoria Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victoria, respo ...
, the body charged with planning and coordination of public transport services in Victoria, released the Metropolitan Network Development Plan. It emphasised the need for the project as a precursor for other heavy rail expansion projects, given current limitations on existing inner city infrastructure to cope with additional services running into the inner part of the network. In particular rail lines to Doncaster railway line, Doncaster,
Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia. It opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is ...
and Rowville require additional inner core capacity to enable services to run on those lines into the CBD.


Jobs

The project is expected to employ up to 3,500 people during peak construction. The training program called MetroHub provides all training, recruitment and project inductions for people working on the Tunnel and Stations work package. 500 apprentices, trainees and engineering cadets are expected to be a part of this program.


South Yarra station

The current scope of the project has ruled out integration with South Yarra station, meaning it will be bypassed by trains using the new tunnel. Passengers from the city on the tunnel's Pakenham railway line, Dandenong line will not be able to transfer to the Frankston railway line, Frankston and Sandringham railway line, Sandringham lines at South Yarra. And passengers travelling towards the city on the Dandenong line will be required to change at Caulfield to pursue travel to South Yarra. Pressure from the State Opposition and the Victorian Greens, Greens to include the station in the tunnel's design have gone unheeded. The Melbourne Metro Rail Authority has defended the plan, saying the economic case for integration is poor, requiring the building of a new hub and the acquisition of 114 properties including part of The Jam Factory at a cost of an extra $1 billion; a business case estimate indicates a return of only 20c for every dollar spent on the station. Integration of South Yarra station into the project has been the subject of lobbying as a requirement for federal funding.


Cost and funding

A significant point of contention has been the relative cost of the project and the capacity of the State to afford up to $11 billion. The former Abbott Ministry, Abbott Federal Government had specifically ruled out funding urban rail projects across the country, limiting funding options for the Melbourne Metro project and placed pressure on the State Government to fund the project with a mix of debt and private business investment. While funding allocated by the Abbott Government for the now-scrapped East West Link was specifically ruled out for use on urban rail projects in Melbourne, the former Turnbull government had removed this condition. Federal funding options for the project were realised by the former Abbott Government's 'Asset Recycling Program', which matches 15% of the cost of any State Government asset that is sold to be used for infrastructure projects. The sale of the Port of Melbourne by the Andrews Government could provide additional funding to the Melbourne Metro project once sold, including an indirect contribution by the Federal Government.


See also

*Melbourne Metro 2 – proposed successor project *Cross River Rail - similar project under construction in Brisbane *
Sydney Metro The Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit system serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Currently consisting of one line that opened on 26 May 2019, it runs from Tallawong to Chatswood and consists of 13 stat ...
- similar project under construction in Sydney *City Rail Link - similar project under construction in Auckland, New Zealand *Suburban Rail Loop - proposed orbital line of the rail network of Melbourne


References


External links


Project website
{{coord missing, Victoria (Australia) Proposed railway lines in Australia Railway lines in Melbourne Rail transport in Melbourne, * Underground commuter rail 2025 in rail transport Tunnels in Victoria (Australia) Public transport routes in the City of Melbourne (LGA)