Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has compared the controversial $200 billion Suburban Rail Loop to the 200-kilometre Grand Paris Express currently under construction, but conceded the Labor government’s project might not be completed in his lifetime.

Natasha Bradshaw, an associate in The Grattan Institute’s transport and cities program, last week urged new Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to scrap the Suburban Rail Loop and defer any unnecessary transport expenditure to ease pressure on costs.