Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) will transform how thousands of students travel to Box Hill Institute every day and create a massive pipeline of job opportunities for future graduates.
The new underground SRL station at Box Hill will be one of Melbourne’s busiest and most well-connected stations – giving prospective students across Melbourne faster and easier access to Box Hill Institute.
Second year refrigeration apprentices Nick and Elijah are excited by the prospect of SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill and what it will mean for staff and students.
“It’ll definitely give people more opportunities to come from the south east and have a direct path to Box Hill on public transport,” said Elijah, who currently drives to the TAFE, finding commuting on the current train network challenging.
And for people like Nick who face a 45-minute drive in heavy traffic, the improved public transport connections from SRL East would mean less time in the car and more time catching up with mates.
“It’ll definitely make it easier. There’ll just be less traffic on the road and less surrounding traffic around the TAFE, as well,” Nick said.
A journey from Cheltenham to Box Hill will be just 22 minutes on the turn-up-and-go network – providing faster and more reliable journeys to and from Box Hill. With trains taking just three to four minutes between stations, Elijah says this will be a big bonus for students and locals, who will be able to use the line to travel to other suburbs for lunch or shopping during their breaks.
SRL will create a pipeline of employment opportunities for young Victorians like Nick and Elijah – supporting up to 24,000 local jobs over the life of the project and 8000 during construction of SRL East. Initial and Early Works for SRL East kick off this year, with 14 per cent of the total hours for the first phase of construction to be worked by Victorian apprentices, trainees or cadets.
Although Nick and Elijah will have graduated by the time SRL East opens in 2035, they say SRL provides a sense of job security – knowing the project will not only create jobs during construction, but also attract thousands of additional jobs to the SRL Precincts.
“I think the project will also be a really good opportunity for people who want to try a different career path. Maybe they want to reskill or do something a bit more hands-on – this will be a good chance to do that,” Elijah said.
Employment in the Box Hill precinct is expected to double to 48,500 jobs by 2056 with SRL East and North. The new station will provide a convenient connection to the existing Box Hill Station on the Belgrave/Lilydale Line and with local tram and bus services.
With around 15,000 passengers every day expected to use the new station at Box Hill, SRL will connect more people to jobs, health services and study opportunities in one of Melbourne’s fastest growing education and medical precincts.