Engineering, Passenger Rail

Demolition work underway for Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel

Melbourne Metro rail tunnel. Graphic: Victorian Government

Construction crews have begun demolishing dozens of buildings in Arden to make way for Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel and five new underground stations.

State premier Daniel Andrews and transport minister Jacinta Allan spoke in Arden, where an old refuelling shed is being knocked down.

“We are getting on with building the Metro Tunnel because Victorians deserve a world class train network where trains come so often you can throw away the timetable,” Andrews said.

“This massive project will see dozens of buildings demolished across Melbourne, making way for the new Metro Tunnel and underground stations.”

The government hopes to see Arden — an old industrial precinct on the edge of the CBD — transformed anew, with the population expected to reach 25,000, and jobs in the area expected to reach 40,000, over the next 30 years.

The suburb will be directly connected to the train network by the new underground station to be built for the Metro Tunnel Project.

“The Metro Tunnel will not only enable more trains, more often – it will create new homes, new jobs and a new community on the doorstep of the CBD,” Allan said.

The state government has made clear in recent days its disappointment with what it perceives as the federal budget’s neglect of Victoria’s infrastructure needs, with Allan reported by the Sydney Morning Herald as stating that Turnbull was “anti-Victoria” and continues to owe $1.45 billion from the Asset Recycling Initiative to the state.

Allan continued her criticism in Arden, taking aim at both state and federal liberals, while affirming that the Metro Tunnel project would continue to make progress.

“The state Liberals abandoned the Metro Tunnel, the federal Liberals keep short changing Victoria, but we’re getting on with the job.”

The government expects the Metro Tunnel project to create around 5,000 jobs, along with opportunities for hundreds of apprentices, trainees and engineering cadets through its Major Projects Skills Guarantee.