Victoria’s Big Build is a monumental project set to revolutionise how Melburnians and residents of its outer suburbs navigate the city and its periphery.
Introducing two new train lines, the Big Build aims to enhance connectivity and streamline public transport across the state, making commuting more convenient than ever before.
The Metro Tunnel and Suburban Train Loop are pivotal components in easing congestion and improving transit efficiency by expanding and upgrading the existing public transport network.
The Metro Tunnel
The Metro Tunnel Project
The Metro Tunnel Project is a city-wide rail that will connect Victoria’s west to its southeast, extending from Sunbury to Cranbourne and Pakenham. The extensive project is expected to cost between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion.
Brand new trains
This brand-new line features larger, more modern trains that see an improvement from the ones that are currently running across the network. A spokesperson from the Metro Tunnel Project told us that these High Capacity Metro Trains (HCMT) are a major upgrade to Victoria’s rail fleet.
“The trains were introduced to the network on the Pakenham Line in December 2020 – the first new trains since the X’Trapolis 100 launched in 2002,” they said. “HCMTs are longer than other Victorian metropolitan trains, with space for 20% more passengers.”
“Accessibility is a key feature of the HCMTs, with priority seating throughout the carriages and 14 allocated spaces at accessible boarding doors. There’s also more space for bikes and prams and more handrails than other metropolitan trains.
Passengers on HCMTs have real-time information, with dynamic route maps and information displays, along with safety improvements such as more CCTV. Even better – the train’s heating and cooling systems are designed for Melbourne conditions.”
Five new stations
The Metro Tunnel Project includes five new underground subway stations: Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and ANZAC Stations. Arden Station in North Melbourne, already completed, is currently being used to test the new rail system to ensure smooth operation as the other stations prepare to open.
The project aims to create a direct route across Melbourne, minimising disruptions for commuters. A dedicated tunnel will link Kensington to South Yarra, facilitating increased passenger capacity and frequency on this direct connection.
More accessible than ever
A spokesperson from Metro Tunnel highlights the importance of accessibility when considering the construction of the Tunnel’s new stations. “Accessibility is at the forefront of the Metro Tunnel’s design,” they said.
“All public areas on the Metro Tunnel will have step-free access, with escalators and lifts making it easy for passengers of all abilities and with mobility aids or prams to get to the station concourse and platform levels.
Tactile ground surface indicators, tactile signage, audible announcements, hearing loops and clear signage will also help create a stress-free journey for all users.
Changing Places will be located at all stations – both inside and outside the Myki ticking gates. Changing Places are larger than standard accessible toilets and have extra features and more space to meet the needs of people with disability and their carers. They include a height-adjustable adult-sized change table, a ceiling track hoist system, more space, an automatic door with an extra-wide opening and a privacy screen.”
“It will change the way people travel around our city”
The Metro Tunnel is made up of twin 9km train tunnels, connecting the west to the southeast via the new Sunbury to Cranbourne and Pakenham line. The deepest section of the tunnel runs 40 metres below Swanston Street, beneath the existing City Loop tunnels, providing a robust infrastructure for the new transit line. A spokesperson from the Metro Tunnel Project says that this project is “the biggest upgrade to Melbourne’s rail network since the City Loop – it will change the way people travel around our city.”
“The Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines will come out of the City Loop and instead travel via the Metro Tunnel, freeing up space in the City Loop for the Craigieburn and Upfield lines and allowing the Frankston Line to return to the Loop.
“The Metro Tunnel and City Loop will connect at two key CBD locations – between Flinders Street Station and the new Town Hall Station, and between Melbourne Central Station and the new State Library Station. This means passengers on all metropolitan lines can interchange between the Metro Tunnel and City Loop services without having to touch off and on.
“Passengers travelling from Melbourne’s west and regional Victoria can interchange at Footscray – saving significant journey time to get to Parkville or St Kilda Road.”
Set to open in 2025
With construction nearing completion and testing underway, the Metro Tunnel is set to open its doors in 2025. Considered one of the most important steps of the process, a spokesperson from Metro Tunnel says that testing is “a rigorous process over many months before the project opens.”
“Inside the tunnels and stations, everything from lifts, escalators, security systems, communications, lighting, plumbing, power and the platform screen doors are being progressively tested.
Test trains are running through the tunnels and on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines between West Footscray and Westall, ensuring all signalling and station systems are working as they should.
The first test trains entered the Metro Tunnel in July 2023, starting with one train moving slowly through each of the tunnels and progressing to multiple trains and systems at once. The test trains were quickly being tested at their maximum speed of 80km/h – the same speed they will travel when the project opens. Since testing started, test trains have travelled more than 20,000km over 2,000 hours.
Trial Operations will also begin later this year, with services running from Clayton to West Footscray through the Metro Tunnel in a dress rehearsal before opening. This phase will trial services using the new signalling system – and a range of possible real-life scenarios with station staff, drivers and passengers – to confirm that everything is ready for passenger service to begin when the Metro Tunnel and five new stations open in 2025.”
“It will open up the city like never before”
Building new rail networks and making transport easier for Victorians is a must in a state that is developing at such a rapid rate. The Metro Tunnel, along with the other projects under Victoria’s Big Build, will help to take the pressure off of our existing public transport networks and cater to the masses as the city’s population continues to grow.
Although the Metro Tunnel will not run through South Yarra on its journey southeast of the city, the implementation of the new rail will mean that passengers who frequent South Yarra Station will reap the benefits of improved capacity on their trains, as well as a more frequent timetable of services for the Frankston and Sandringham lines.
A spokesperson from Metro Tunnel also highlights the benefits for commuters who may or may not need to use the Tunnel to travel around the city. “The Metro Tunnel will mean more ways to move around Melbourne,” they say.
“It will open up the city like never before, giving passengers direct train access to St Kilda Road and Parkville for the first time.
Metro Tunnel passengers can catch a train to the doorstep of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and University of Melbourne via Parkville Station, or to the Shrine of Remembrance or St Kilda Road business hub via Anzac Station. Passengers on any metropolitan train line can switch at Flinders Street or Melbourne Central stations to get to these new destinations via the Metro Tunnel.
The Metro Tunnel, along with sections of the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines, will be fitted with Victorian-first technology known as High Capacity Signalling (HCS). HCS automatically keeps trains a safe distance from each other – like cruise control in a car – allowing trains to travel closer together.
Even people not using the train will benefit from the project, with improvements including wider footpaths, safer crossings, better cycle lanes, more bike parking and upgraded parks in streets around the stations. There will also be pedestrian underpasses beneath St Kilda Road and Royal Parade so people can cross safely without waiting for traffic or passing through ticket gates.
The project is installing lifts from the Degraves subway to existing platforms at Flinders Street Station, boosting accessibility for passengers.”
The Suburban Rail Loop
The Suburban Rail Loop will span 90 kilometres of rail line, connecting major train services from the Frankston Line to the Werribee Line via Melbourne Airport. This project focuses on improving connectivity throughout Melbourne and its suburbs.
A spokesperson from the Suburban Rail Loop describes the project as one that “will transform Melbourne’s public transport network, ease congestion and slash travel times – making it easier for all Victorians to get where they need to go – to work, study, the airport, entertainment, and family and friends. By the 2050s, SRL East and SRL North will carry more than 430,000 passengers daily, taking more than 600,000 cars off the road each day.”
“It will transform the public transport network”
This project keeps in mind the transport needs of Victorians living outside the city, with three transport super hubs at Clayton, Broadmeadows and Sunshine. Victorians will be able to connect to regional services on the Suburban Rail Loop, with a spokesperson from the project saying that “The new orbital rail line will connect passengers to key destinations across Melbourne’s middle suburbs without people needing to go into the CBD and back out again.”
A network that is growing with the city
As Melbourne’s population expands and new homes are being built further from the city centre, the Suburban Rail Loop is designed to ensure comprehensive connectivity. “Suburban Rail Loop will help young people find homes where they want to live – with plans for thousands more homes and more housing options in the neighbourhoods around the new train stations,” a spokesperson says. By anticipating Melbourne’s growth, the project aims to link new and existing suburbs to the wider city via efficient public transport.
The Suburban Rail Loop is being constructed in phases due to the large magnitude of the project and the area it encompasses. The Eastern segment, from Cheltenham to Box Hill, is currently under construction and is expected to begin taking passengers by 2035. A spokesperson from the project adds that construction is “creating up to 8,000 direct local jobs.”
“Around 70,000 people are expected to use SRL East every day – nearly half of them shifting from their cars.
SRL will be staged over multiple decades – this enables the broader pipeline of Big Build infrastructure projects to be delivered, as well as progressively sequencing the investment and the transfer of jobs and skills. This is a similar approach to mega project delivery around Australia and overseas, including Sydney Metro in NSW and the Grand Paris Express in France.
2024 is the biggest year yet for SRL, with construction underway at all six station sites and the train stabling facility in Heatherton and more than 1300 people already working on the project. SRL will not only transform our public transport system, it will help shape the way the city grows and deliver more homes in the right places – on the doorstep of world-class public transport.”
A map for the future of Melbourne
The East and North segments of the project will be entirely underground, while the Airport segment will be an elevated rail link to Melbourne Airport. In terms of a timeline for the project’s completion, currently “crews are moving underground services like power, water and gas to make way for the new underground stations and tunnels, and are building launch sites for tunnel boring machines,” a spokesperson says.
“The timing for delivering SRL North from Box Hill to Melbourne Airport will be determined by a future government, however the SRL Business and Investment Case published in 2021 estimated this section would be complete by 2053. SRL North features seven brand new stations at Doncaster, Heidelberg, Bundoora, Reservoir, Fawkner, Broadmeadows, and Melbourne Airport.
SRL West from Sunshine to Werribee will build on the major road and rail projects already being delivered in the west, to deliver faster and more convenient travel, and improve access to jobs and services in the middle suburbs. SRL West is in the early planning and development stage.
SRL Airport extends from Melbourne Airport to Sunshine and will be delivered as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail Project, by the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA).”
Six new stations
Stations integrated into the Suburban Rail Loop include existing ones like Cheltenham, Clayton, Glen Waverly, Box Hill, Heidelberg, Reservoir, Fawkner, Broadmeadows, Sunshine and Werribee. New stations will be built at Monash, Burwood, Doncaster, Bundoora, Melbourne Airport and Keilor East. “SRL East’s six new stations from Cheltenham to Box Hill will connect major employment precincts, schools, hospitals and shopping centres in the southeast,” a SLR spokesperson says, “including direct train access for the first time to Monash and Deakin universities.”
A city of many centres
This transformative project aims to evolve Melbourne from a single CBD-centric city to one with multiple city centres, encouraging people to live, work, shop and thrive in diverse, bustling area beyond the boundaries of the current CBD.
“By the 2050s, Melbourne is going to be a city of nearly nine million people – a city the same size London is today,” a SLR spokesperson says.
“SRL will bring more homes, jobs and services to the neighbourhoods around the stations, with a long-term vision for 70,000 additional homes and 230,000 extra jobs around the six SRL East stations.
These neighbourhoods will be thriving communities for people to live, work, study and play. Places with open and green space, playgrounds and schools, universities, TAFEs, and health services – all linked by a world-class public transport network.”
For constant updates on the Big Build, including the Metro Tunnel and Suburban Rail Loop, head here.
