Allan government to spend an extra $727m on Metro Tunnel in next week’s state budget

The state government will spend more than $700m to facilitate ‘turn up and go’ train services once the $15bn Metro Tunnel opens. But not all train lines will benefit from the cash.

The Allan government will splash an extra $727m to turn on and run train services through its $15bn Metro Tunnel in next week’s state budget.

Flanked by 10 western suburbs MPs, Premier Jacinta Allan on Monday gave her first insight into what will be contained in the state budget – titled Focused On What Matters Most.

To be handed down on May 20, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes’ first budget will include a $5bn public transport blitz.

But in a sign of the state’s dire finances, only $825m of that $5bn package will be new money.

Of that, $727m will pave the way for turn up and go services for the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines – which run through the Metro Tunnel – to ensure that commuters can jump on a train every few minutes.

Premier Jacinta Allan speaking at Sunshine station on Monday. Picture: David Geraghty

That cash injection is on top of the Metro Tunnel’s already blown-out $15bn price tag.

But Premier Jacinta Allan said the extra funds don’t equate to a new blow out because infrastructure funding is separate to service funding.

“If you think about … we’ve made capital investment that has seen thousands of workers work on this project over a number of years to get to the point where we can now in this year’s budget fund the services … that will run through the Metro Tunnel,” she said.

Meanwhile, an extra $98.7m will go towards more services across the network including during peak times on the Werribee and Sandringham lines.

The new cash injection is on top of the Metro Tunnel’s already blown-out $15bn price tag.

The remainder of the funds that were spruiked by Ms Allan on Monday was a $4bn commitment to redevelop Sunshine station and turn it into a transport “super hub”.

That money, which had already been announced, includes a $2bn contribution from the federal Labor government towards the project.

The Sunshine super hub project has been hailed by Ms Allan as the key to delivering the long awaited Airport Rail project.

“Sunshine station is such an important gateway for the airport, for the western suburbs, for the city and for the regional trains as well, and this will transform Sunshine station into a transport super hub for suburban and country and airport rail trains,” Ms Allan said.

“It also paves the way, because it untangles the network, for future works to be able to deliver more services for the western suburbs.”

Once complete, the Sunshine super hub will be able to support more than 40 metropolitan and regional trains per hour, as well as trains from the Melton and Melbourne Airport lines.

Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan inspecting a new train at Anzac station in 2023. Picture: David Geraghty

Victorian Shadow Minister for Public Transport Matthew Guy savaged the announcement, especially the money allocated to “switch on” the metro tunnel labelling is as “Labor government spin”.

“10 years in and the Labor government are announcing $5 billion for public transport, and it appears $4 billion of it is for one railway station, and three-quarters of a billion dollars on top of that is to switch on a piece of infrastructure that they own and built.

“No one else has budgeted to switch on a piece of infrastructure in the past.

“What does that mean? Flicking a switch, maintenance contracts, they still haven’t told us what it actually means and that money could have been spent to putting more services on lines that desperately need it.”

He said the announcement would be a “kick in the guts” for the northern and western suburbs given previous promises to electrify western suburbs lines and said the $726m of extra money given to the Metro Rail Tunnel could have built two new hospitals.

Originally published as Allan government to spend an extra $727m on Metro Tunnel in next week’s state budget