Busy train lines closing for works as Metro Tunnel trial looms

Passengers will board trains bound for the Metro Tunnel and its five new underground stations for the first time next month, as the $15 billion project inches closer to opening.

Trains on the Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines will be part of a June 21 trial, but passengers will need to wait to travel through the tunnel itself.

Trains operating between Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham through the Metro Tunnel will take passengers for the first time, but not through the tunnel itself.

City-bound passengers on those lines will transfer to other services at either Footscray or Caulfield. Empty trains will continue through the nine-kilometre underground tunnel between Kensington and South Yarra, passing new stops at Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac stations.

Work is still being done at the Metro Tunnel’s two new CBD stations – State Library and Town Hall – but the Allan government has insisted the project will come online by the end of 2025.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams said two of the major Big Build projects that had caused years of transport disruptions were nearing completion.

“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,” Williams said.

Big Build projects will cause disruptions elsewhere on the transport network over winter, including one of Melbourne’s busiest train lines being shut for a week.

Buses will replace trains on the Cranbourne/Pakenham line, and V/Line’s Traralgon and Bairnsdale trains from Friday, August 29, to Friday, September 5, due to work at Clayton Station to prepare for tunnelling to start on the $34.5 billion Suburban Rail Loop next year.

Sections of the Sunbury, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston and Werribee lines will also have bus replacements at various times during June, July and August due to level-crossing removal works, and testing of Metro’s new X’Trapolis 2.0 trains.

Hurstbridge line trains will also be replaced with buses in July as a rail tunnel is extended as part of the North East Link road project.

North East Link works will also close the Eastern Freeway between Doncaster and Tram roads for an entire weekend in late August to install a pedestrian and cycling bridge, in addition to regular nighttime closures.

Works on the West Gate Tunnel – which have disrupted western suburbs commuters since 2018 – will reduce the West Gate Freeway to three lanes outbound between Williamstown Road and Millers Road, and also close the Williamstown outbound on-ramp and Millers Road exit ramp during winter.

The exact dates of the disruptions have not been confirmed, with motorists advised to check the Big Build website before they travel.

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