Metro Tunnel trains to disrupt MRI machines
It’s believed tens of millions of dollars will be needed to move or upgrade lifesaving equipment in Parkville’s hospitals as a result of the Metro Tunnel.
Victoria
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Life-saving equipment in Parkville’s world-leading medical district will have to be moved to other hospitals or upgraded at significant expense to prevent interference from Metro Tunnel trains.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan will confirm on Tuesday that underground trains will disrupt the work of magnetic resonance imaging machines.
Trains running through the twin 9km tunnels will create electromagnetic interference that can affect the performance of these machines and other sensitive devices.
They must be moved to specially built areas in other hospitals, or existing rooms will need extra reinforcement.
The state government has not put a figure on how much the changes will cost but it is believed to be tens of millions of dollars – within the project’s $14bn budget.
The issue was first revealed by the Herald Sun in 2018.
New MRI suites are being built on level seven of the Royal Women’s Hospital and on a new floor in the north wing of the Royal Melbourne Hospital for the machines.
Outpatient services for MRI and some imaging at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will be moved, while its inpatients will use the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Interference to hi-tech machines was first raised in 2016 during the approvals process for the Metro Tunnel.
The Herald Sun revealed that Parkville administrators pleaded with the government to address the problem.
At the time, the project said it was too early to assess whether any equipment would need to be moved.
But the state government and the project’s builders have now agreed to move the sensitive machines in time for test trains to run through the tunnel by the second half of 2023.
This train testing process is expected to take up to 18 months in preparation for passenger services to begin on the mammoth project by 2025.
Excavation work at Parkville, which created concerns about vibrations, have been completed and the station is now being fitted out with electricity, plumbing and platforms.
Last week the Andrews government said it would start recruiting more than 100 new drivers for high-capacity trains and that tracks in the tunnel would be laid soon.
“Moving MRI services will ensure hospitals in Parkville continue to deliver world-class care while we build a world-class train system for Victoria,” Ms Allan said.
The Metro Tunnel will create an alternative to the City Loop running underground from South Yarra to Kensington through five underground stations.
Originally published as Metro Tunnel trains to disrupt MRI machines
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