Mega transport projects will change how we travel after we endure pain of construction

The state’s big transport projects will reshape the city and how we travel including a 15km rail tunnel under the Yarra River.

A new 15km rail tunnel under the Yarra River that links Melbourne’s west to the northeast is set to be built within two decades, reshaping city and regional travel.

The mega-project, referred to as Metro 2 and likely to cost $22-29bn, would be built in multiple stages to eventually connect Newport to Clifton Hill and untangle suburban rail lines.

The Herald Sun can reveal that government documents relating to the $34.5bn Suburban Rail Loop project state that Metro 2 will be operating by 2041.

Senior ministers and shadow ministers have also described the project as a “no-brainer” as the city’s population balloons, even though neither major party has publicly committed to the cross-city link in the immediate term.

The first stage of the tunnel, to connect Newport to Southern Cross Station and provide up to two stations in growth suburb Fishermans Bend, is also in the long-term state transport plans.

Public transport groups and government advisory bodies back the project, but have urged careful scoping due to the expected high cost and complexity of the tunnel, which would cross the Yarra at two separate points.

New underground stations would likely be built at Newport, Fishermans Bend West, Fishermans Bend Sandridge and Southern Cross.

This would slash up to 10 minutes from trips to the CBD from suburbs such as Laverton, would decouple western suburbs rail lines and enable faster direct Geelong services.

The route of the second stage is not yet set, but Infrastructure Victoria has explored two options including using an old Inner Circle rail route or going more direct to Clifton Hill via Parkville and potentially Fitzroy.

Infrastructure Victoria acting chief executive Jonathan Spear said the project would “unlock the potential at Fishermans Bend” but the government would need to carefully plan the route.

“It’s probably the project with the most benefits, but it’s also probably got the most costs,” he said.

“You wouldn’t build it all at once, it would take many years to do.”

Metro 2 will connect Parkville residents Eleanor Cooney Hunt and Kelan Galbraith with suburbs such as Newport and Clifton Hill. Picture: David Crosling

In August, Infrastructure Victoria updated its assessment of Metro 2, estimating it would cost between $11.1bn and $14.8bn for the first stage and $10.5bn and $13.9bn for the second.

Stage two work assumed station connections or new hubs at Flagstaff, Parkville, Fitzroy and Clifton Hill.

Metro 2 was one of five key projects identified in Infrastructure Victoria’s 30-year blueprint for road and rail.

And modelling for the Andrews government’s Suburban Rail Loop, also released in August, reveals that the full Metro 2 project will be up and running by 2041, when the second stage of the SRL is due to be under construction.

The “base case” in the modelling says Melbourne Metro 2 will include a “Newport Tunnel operational with Geelong and Werribee services from the west running to Mernda”.

Parkville’s Eleanor Cooney Hunt, 21, said the project would be “incredibly beneficial” to the community.

“I work in the city and spend so much time walking to and from work because our tram or train lines are so far away,” Ms Cooney Hunt said.

“It’s also difficult to get directly to areas like Fitzroy and Clifton Hill without a car. “Parkville is so close to the city but it doesn’t feel like it sometimes because the public transport is so unreliable, and it takes a while to get anywhere.

“It feels very disconnected.”

Opposition transport infrastructure spokeswoman Louise Staley said the Coalition would release its transport plans before the election but backed the project long term as a “natural corollary to Metro 1”.

“It needs to be built, it’s a priority project in the sense that it’s got experts backing it,” Ms Staley said.

“It frees up the other lines currently coming through the City Loop.”

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the link was more than just a rail project due to its impact on planning, jobs and housing.

“It’s one of those big projects that’s not just about Melbourne rail capacity, it’s about Fishermans Bend and making that work, and the potential for fast rail to Geelong,” Mr Bowen said.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the Metro Tunnel currently being built was the priority, but added that works “are future-proofed for any future second tunnel especially around the new Parkville Station”.

“We’re doing the right projects in the right order for a growing Melbourne – we’re building the Metro Tunnel, starting the Suburban Rail Loop, getting on with the Airport Rail, duplicating and extending train lines to growing suburbs, and upgrading every regional rail line,” Ms Allan said.