Metro Tunnel trial to kickstart winter of commuter chaos across Melbourne

Trains on Melbourne’s busiest rail corridor will take their first “live” trial runs into the $15bn Metro Tunnel next month, the first of several winter rail and road closures across the city. Find out how you’ll be affected.

Trains on Melbourne’s busiest rail corridor will take their first “live” trial runs into the $15bn Metro Tunnel next month, kickstarting a winter of commuter chaos.

Passengers travelling on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines on Saturday, June 21, will have to switch trains at Caulfield or Footscray to continue journeys while the trial is held.

Until now, test trains have only run through the tunnel with drivers and Metro staff and have not had any passenger interaction.

The June trial will be the first of several winter rail and road closures across almost every part of the city, as the Allan government races to get two signature mega projects open this year.

This includes the $10.2bn West Gate Tunnel, which will soon impact motorist journeys along the West Gate Freeway while it has finishing touches applied.

Later in the year, outbound travel will be reduced to three lanes between Williamstown Rd and Millers Rd, while the Williamstown Rd outbound on ramp, and the Millers Rd exit ramp, will be hit with closures.

The June Metro Tunnel trial will be the first of several rail and road closures across the state.

Other projects set to cause commuter pain include the $26bn North East Link, which is due to open later in the decade. The Eastern Freeway will be shut completely on weekends in August between Doncaster and Tram roads, in order to build new pedestrian and cycling bridges, while buses will replace trains on sections of the Hurstbridge line in July while a rail tunnel is built.

Work to prepare for tunnelling on the $34.5bn Suburban Rail Loop East at Clayton will also force rail passengers on to replacement buses along the route of the Cranbourne, Pakenham, Traralgon and Bairnsdale lines, for a week from the end of August.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams said the Metro Tunnel and West Gate Tunnel were on track to open this year, and would ease congestion across Melbourne.

“A huge amount of work is underway this winter, with the finish line in sight for Metro Tunnel and West Gate Tunnel – city-shaping projects that will ease congestion and cut travel times,” she said.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams said a huge amount of work was underway this winter. Picture: Diego Fedele

Ms Williams said crews of station staff will “be out in force” to direct affected passengers during the first Metro trial.

Once the Metro Tunnel is operational late this year, passengers on the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines will travel through the 9km tunnel and stop at five new inner city stations.

If they wanted to switch to the City Loop, they would change at Caulfield or Footscray – just like during the June 21 trial.

Signs and information displays will reflect future services during the trial, while more trains will run than usual to help reduce passenger pain.

Further trials this year will disrupt travel on the Sunbury, Cranbourne, Pakenham and Gippsland lines.

Testing of new X’Trapolis trains and level crossing removals will also impact sections of the Sunbury, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston, and Werribee lines.

The government says information to plan winter travel will be available at bigbuild.vic.gov.au/map.

What operators have to say

Network Coordination and Operational Readiness director for the Metro Tunnel Project Shannon Rollinson said there will be staff on deck to help commuters navigate the confusion.

“We’ll have extra people on the platform supporting passengers to make those changes,” she said.

“The change will be at Footscray moving to the Werribee line, so you’re still moving through into the city.

“The same at Caulfield, it’ll be moving onto the Frankston line.

“You’ll still be able to make your way through to the city and where you need to be for sporting events.”

Commuters will have to switch trains at Footscray, pictured, or Caulfield while the trial is underway.

Ms Rollinson was questioned on whether June 21 was the best day to be holding the trials considering there were significant sports events scheduled.

Two of Melbourne’s biggest AFL clubs in Carlton and Collingwood are playing in Melbourne on that day.

“It’s really important that we continue pushing and doing this as much as we can,” she said.

“We’ve got events, you know, it’s Victoria, we’ve got events all the time and we just need to ensure that we are testing everything that we need to test to ensure that we can open in 2025.”

Ms Rollinson said they were hoping commuters would be patient and understanding on the days of trials.

“We’re hoping that the communication will be the thing that allows passengers to know exactly what they need to do,” she said.

The trials are likely to cause ‘a disruptive winter period’, especially with sporting games underway. Picture: Supplied

Ms Williams was also asking for patience from the wider Melbourne community as well considering the West Gate Tunnel and North East Link delays to go along with the Metro trials.

“Look, it’s a significant period of disruption,” she said.

“The Victorian community has been part of this with us in making sure that we’re ready to switch these projects on with all the benefits that come with them.

“As we nudge closer to opening the Westgate Tunnel and the Metro Tunnel Projects, obviously it ramps up.

“Lots of testing going on in terms of the Metro tunnel Project, which will cause some disruption.

“So it is a disruptive winter period, which is why it’s so important that we are able to communicate with the community, be able to provide the right information in an easily accessible way.”

Originally published as Metro Tunnel trial to kickstart winter of commuter chaos across Melbourne