North East Link and the M80 Ring Road Completion are heating up over summer, with rail system upgrades forming part of an eight-week construction blitz – in a major step towards getting the Hurstbridge rail line at Watsonia ready for North East Link.
From 11pm Friday 31 January until the last service on Thursday 27 March, buses will replace trains between Heidelberg and Eltham on the Hurstbridge Line while crews upgrade a range of operational and rail systems – including track and overhead traction infrastructure, and safety systems.
Crews will work around the clock to lay a new track slab, install new overhead lines, install communication and safety systems as well as build out the rail corridor abutments, paving the way for the project to extend the rail tunnel beneath Greensborough Highway.
This major construction blitz will put the extended rail tunnel on track for completion in mid-2026. When complete, the Watsonia rail tunnel will become the third longest in Melbourne, behind the Metro Tunnel and City Loop.
People across Melbourne’s north-east are asked to allow extra time and plan their journey by checking the PTV or VicTraffic apps before they travel.
The North East Link tunnels, the M80 Ring Road Completion and the Eastern Freeway Upgrades will be complete in 2028, slashing travel times by up to 35 minutes, and taking 15,000 trucks off local roads.
