First glimpse of Town Hall Station as work powers ahead under City Square

Stunning new images have revealed the spectacular Town Hall Station concourse beneath City Square, one of the five new stations set to open as part of the Metro Tunnel Project in 2025.

Just months after Metro Tunnel crews finished dismantling the noise-cancelling shed over City Square, work has begun to install the eight soaring columns that will be a signature feature of the concourse level.

Passengers will experience a large open space when they enter the station from City Square, which measures 18-metres wide. The eight concrete and steel columns will reach all the way to the ceiling, up to 14-metres above the concourse.

The concourse will be directly beneath Melbourne’s City Square, which will be returned to the public as an open space for events and to gather, surrounded by city landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Melbourne Town Hall.

The project is set to reach another significant milestone in October – the reopening of a section of Flinders St that has been closed for more than four years.

The eastbound lane between Elizabeth St and Swanston St, alongside the tram stop, will permanently reopen to traffic in October, improving traffic flow through the CBD.

Both eastbound lanes were closed in September 2019 to allow construction of the underground walkway between Flinders Street Station and Town Hall Station.

In a final step towards reopening the traffic lane, a small section of footpath opposite Flinders Street Station, between Dangerfield and Clements House, will be closed from Monday, May 29 until mid-September so workers can finish construction below ground and safely reinstate the traffic lane.

The other eastbound lane, next to the footpath, will remain closed as construction continues on Town Hall Station.

The state-of-the-art station will be a new gateway to some of Melbourne’s most popular destinations, including Federation Square and Southbank, and feature extraordinary cathedral-like arched ceilings and some of the widest platforms in the world.

The Metro Tunnel will transform rail travel in Melbourne, creating capacity for more than half-a-million extra passengers in the peak each week. •