Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel will officially open to passengers on Sunday November 30, slightly earlier than the estimate of “early December” that was previously announced by the Victorian Government.
Trains will stop at all five new underground stations – Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac.
As part of the “Summer Start”, there will be 240 extra services a week through the Metro Tunnel between West Footscray and Westall.
There will also be extended weekend services through the Metro Tunnel to Sunbury and East Pakenham.
The extra and extended services will run alongside the existing timetable, which will allow passengers on the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines to choose between existing services and a Metro Tunnel service.
Services through the Metro Tunnel will run between Westall and West Footscray every 20 minutes from 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday, and from around 10am to 7pm on weekends.
On weekends, services through the Metro Tunnel will run about every 40 minutes from East Pakenham and about every 60 minutes from Sunbury.
Public transport will be free on weekends from when the Metro Tunnel opens until 1 February 2026.
Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams recently told Rail Express: “This project has been buzzing along underground and causing disturbance for a long time.
“We’ve asked people to change the way they move, we’ve disrupted their travel, and we want to say thank you.
“That’s part of the reason why we have committed to free weekend travel from [November 30] to 1 February 2026. We want people to get out there and check this out.”
A new timetable and broader network changes will be introduced in early 2026.
