Melbourne prepares to step into a new era as Metro Tunnel opens early

After years of construction, detours and disruption, Melbourne’s long-awaited Metro Tunnel will finally open its doors on Sunday, November 30 – a full year ahead of schedule.

It marks the most significant transformation of the city’s rail network in four decades.

The Allan Government confirmed the early opening as part of its Summer Start program, which will also deliver free public transport every weekend across Victoria until February 1.

The announcement brings fresh momentum and relief to a city that has endured years of fenced-off footpaths, heavy machinery and excavation sites across its key precincts.

Crucially, the opening unlocks long-shuttered areas around City Square, Swanston St, Franklin St and the State Library precinct – parts of the CBD that have been behind construction hoarding for nearly a decade. Their reopening is expected to breathe life back into some of Melbourne’s most iconic civic spaces.

The $12 billion project includes five new underground stations – Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac – sitting up to 40 metres below the city’s busiest streets. The Metro Tunnel will allow trains to bypass the City Loop and move directly through the new tunnels, freeing up capacity across the network and offering direct access to major employment, education, medical and arts precincts.

When services begin, we’ll be opening a new era for our city and state,” Premier Jacinta Allan said. “The Metro Tunnel sets Victoria up for the future – slashing travel times, taking pressure off the City Loop and paving the way for more trains, more often.

The scale of construction has been immense. Since works began in 2015, around 7000 workers have helped carve out 1.8 million cubic metres of rock and soil beneath the CBD, build twin nine-kilometre tunnels, lay 40 kilometres of Australian-made track and install more than 157,000 tonnes of steel. The result is a new rail corridor that doubles the size of Melbourne’s underground system.

High-capacity signalling across the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines will enable “turn-up-and-go” services to run through the tunnel. From next year, more than 1000 extra weekly services will be added when the “Big Switch” integrates the new line with the wider network, including the long-awaited return of the Frankston line to the City Loop. 

Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams described the tunnel as “a world-class rail system built for our future”, while Suburban Rail Loop Minister Harriet Shing said opening day would be “something Victoria has never seen before.”

Big crowds are expected on November 30, with Melburnians eager to step inside the striking new stations and experience the city’s first seamless cross-city rail corridor. •