The Victorian government will invest almost $5 billion in the 2025–26 State Budget to deliver major upgrades across Melbourne’s rail network, including the long-anticipated opening of the Metro Tunnel.
A total of $727 million will be used to operationalise the Metro Tunnel, which is expected to open this year according to an announcement from Victorian premier Jacinta Allan this week. The project, the largest transformation of Melbourne’s rail system since the construction of the City Loop, will introduce new underground tunnels beneath the CBD and five new stations.
The announcement comes after the first three Metro Tunnel stations in Arden, Parkville and Anzac, were handed over from builders to rail operators last month.
Earlier this year, the Metro Tunnel ran 2,600 tests, totaling to 35,000 kilometres in 10 days with the success setting up for new station openings ahead-of-schedule this year.
Metro Tunnel Project
- The state government will invest $727 million into the Metro Tunnel project
- “Turn-up-and-go” services for Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines to be enabled
- Werribee, Sandringham, Craigieburn, Upfield, Traralgon, Bendgo and Seymour lines to benefit
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When complete, the project will enable “turn-up-and-go” services on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, significantly reducing wait times and easing congestion across the broader network.
An additional $98.7 million will fund more frequent services on several metropolitan and regional lines. The Werribee line will gain two extra trains per hour during peak periods, increasing from six to eight. The Sandringham line will see services every 10 minutes between peak periods, up from the current four to six trains per hour.
The Craigieburn and Upfield lines will also benefit, with trains to run at least every 20 minutes during off-peak periods, including evenings and weekends. On the Traralgon line, part of the Gippsland corridor, interpeak weekday services will increase to every 40 minutes following the completion of recent infrastructure upgrades.
Additional service improvements include longer weekend trains on the Bendigo line and an extra morning and afternoon peak service on the Seymour line.
The upgrades form part of the government’s ongoing investment in public transport, which has added more than 2100 weekly train services across Victoria’s metropolitan and regional networks since 2015.
As Melbourne’s population continues to grow, the Metro Tunnel Project is positioned to support urban expansion and potentially help the city in its quest to reclaim the title of world’s most liveable city – a crown it held for seven consecutive years before being displaced in 2018.
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