Trains to be tested in Metro Tunnel next year as works advance

A fresh look at Melbourne’s Town Hall station has revealed one dramatic “cathedral-like” feature as works enter the next phase.

The updated interior of a key new Melbourne CBD station has been revealed as the government eyes the start of train testing in the Metro Tunnel.

Platforms have now been erected for Town Hall railway station, stretching about 250m from Federation Square to City Square at a depth of 30m beneath Swanston St.

The station features three overlapping tunnels with arched ceilings up to 10m high.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the station would have some of the widest platforms in the world and would boast a “cathedral-like atmosphere”.

The acoustic shed that has stood at City Square for four years will soon be dismantled piece by piece, with a second 50m tower crane to join the other already in position on Swanston St to lift the pieces onto trucks for removal.

Works continue in the Metro Tunnel, with Town Hall Station among the most advanced of the sites. Picture: David Crosling

Town Hall Station has three overlapping tunnels, which have created an arched ceiling above its platforms. Picture: David Crosling

The upper levels and above ground entrance from City Square will become the focus of construction, with the site one of seven station entrances that will take people to Metro Tunnel services.

“It’s really starting to take shape, with the cabin work completed and the station fit-out now underway we are really seeing how the key underground stations will look as part of the Metro Tunnel,” Ms Allan said.

“(The works) mean we can join the busiest train lines in our network, the Sunbury and Pakenham-Cranbourne lines – it creates more space for those trains which in turn frees up the rest of the network.”

The works remained on track to finish a year early, with the start of train testing in the tunnels scheduled for 2023, Ms Allan said.

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allen talks to site managers underground at Town Hall station. Picture: David Crosling

It comes six weeks after the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office warned delays and cost increases were heaping pressure on the project.

VAGO’s audit of the second phase of Metro Tunnel works, on the main tunnel and underground stations, found the section was forecast to be $364m more than budgeted.

“Some work has been descoped from the project, almost all risk contingency funds have been used or allocated, and many potential project risks remain,” the report said.

Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer will create a large-scale permanent artwork for Town Hall Station after he was chosen by an expert advisory panel.

Acclaimed Melbourne artists Patricia Piccinini (Parkville Station) and Raafat Ishak (Anzac Station) were also selected to create projects, along with Abdul Abdullah (Arden Station) and Danie Mellor (State Library Station).