United Firefighters Union accuses Metro Tunnel of safety concerns in bid to delay train line opening
The firefighters’ union has accused Metro Tunnel operators of safety concerns as it seeks to stop next weekend’s opening of the $15.5 billion train line, in a fresh fight with the Allan government.
Victoria’s firefighter union has launched a desperate bid to delay Sunday’s long-awaited opening of the $15.5 billion Metro Tunnel amid fresh legal claims.
The new rail line, which will be an alternative to the City Loop, is due to run off-peak services this weekend along the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
But United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall has accused operators of improperly planning for emergencies, and has received legal advice suggesting a “criminal offence” may have occurred when accreditation was provided to run trains.
The union has asked the national rail regulator to consider whether an offence has been committed, just six days before the tunnel’s official opening.
The Government, Fire Rescue Victoria, and the national rail regulator have emphatically rejected the UFU claims, which comes amid a bitter industrial relations feud between the union and Labor.
Fire Rescue Victoria recently provided the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator a “Letter of No Objection” – a crucial mechanism to allow for the opening of the tunnel – following months of testing and safety checks.
But Mr Marshall says the union, not just the FRV, should have been consulted on plans, and that radio network faults were still occurring underground.
He said that “the government’s actions are dictated by their aspirations for re-election
in November 2026” rather than the safety of the new line.
A Government spokesman said the UFU claims, which also relate to the opening of the West Gate Tunnel, were “wrong”, and that FRV has worked with project teams throughout construction and testing to “ensure the necessary safety measures are in place”.
On Friday, FRV deputy commissioner Eddie Lacko wrote to firefighters and assured them that communications systems would be available underground, and that although field tests on radios had “identified some issues”, this was being addressed by software updates.
He said a person-to-person simplex channel would be available in the event of any radio network faults — but the UFU says this would limit firefighters from speaking to other emergency services personnel.
The network used throughout Metro during emergencies would also be used by police, paramedics and triple-0, and the Herald Sun is not aware of issues raised by those workforces.
An FRV spokeswoman said field tests on the network infrastructure for the Metro Tunnel and West Gate Tunnel were ongoing, and that contingencies were in place if problems arose.
A spokesman for the ONRSR said the regulator “strongly refutes” claims and said it has “detailed evidence of consultation between MTM (Metro Trains Melbourne) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) on a range of elements of the SMS including on the issue of radio systems in the new tunnel”.
“In that case modifications have been made, including the implementation of additional relays in all cross passages of the tunnel,” he said.
Originally published as United Firefighters Union accuses Metro Tunnel of safety concerns in bid to delay train line opening
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