Melbourne's public transport system is in the throes of a makeover, in a big way. Between the imminent opening of the metro tunnel and Myki cards on their way to being scrapped, we'll be seeing some significant changes to how we get around our city in the coming years. There's even a plan in the pipeline for a second metro tunnel with a station underneath Marvel Stadium.
But wait – believe it or not, there's more. The next big (or rather, ginormous) transport project is the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL), and construction officially kicked off this month.
We don't blame you if you have no idea what the SRL is, since it's a little hard to keep up with Melbourne's many construction projects. Essentially, the SRL is a brand-new rail line that will run for 90 kilometres around the outer ring of Melbourne’s metro area, travelling from Werribee in the west to Cheltenham in the south.
The purpose of the SRL is to take pressure off the inner areas of Melbourne, spread out our city's population and infrastructure density and accommodate for the booming growth areas in outer Melbourne. According to the state government, Melbourne’s population growth is on track to be the current size of London by 2050, so more transport is urgently needed.
It will travel via the future airport rail link through the new super hub station in Sunshine, then to the northern suburbs, stopping at Broadmeadows, Fawkner, Reservoir, Bundoora and Heidelberg. Then it will zoom to the east, via Doncaster, Box Hill, Burwood, Glen Waverley, Monash, Clayton and finish in Cheltenham.
It's a gigantic project, so the SRL is divided into four separate sections – each an individual project that will be completed gradually over the next 30 years or so.
The SRL East project is the first cab off the rank, as construction began on the eastern portion of the rail in early May. Giant tunnel boring machines will create 26 kilometres of twin tunnels, running underground between Cheltenham and Box Hill. This part of the rail line is planned to be up and running by 2035 and is expected to cost up to $34.5 billion.
When it's all completed, the entire SRL will connect every major train service, from the Frankston Line to the Werribee line, making it easier to travel between suburbs and eliminating the need to travel across Melbourne via the CBD.
The project will include several new stations across Melbourne’s suburbs, with six new underground stations in the east and seven new stations proposed in the north. Broadmeadows, Sunshine and Clayton will become transport “super hubs”, with both metro and regional lines running through these stations.
It's a long-term vision (emphasis on the long), but it's exciting nonetheless. If you want to find out more about the Suburban Rail Loop, head to the website here.
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