There’s a lot of change afoot with Melbourne’s public transport system: including a Myki card overhaul, the huge new Metro Tunnel and a fleet of next-gen trams. And now, for commuters along the Hurstbridge Line, things are looking up. After a month-long construction blitz, major works on the extension of the Hurstbridge Line rail tunnel between Grimshaw Street and Elder Street in Watsonia have wrapped up. Trains have re-opened to passengers, marking a huge step forward for the $15.8 billion North East Link project that’s reshaping the way Melbourne moves.
The newly extended tunnel now runs almost half a kilometre beneath Watsonia – making it the third longest rail tunnel in metropolitan Melbourne, right behind the City Loop and the new Metro Tunnel. The project has also delivered a rebuilt and widened Grimshaw Street Bridge, with crews working around the clock over the past 30 days to get trains running again.
Above ground, drivers are already feeling the difference. New lanes have opened along the M80 Ring Road and Greensborough Bypass, as the M80 Interchange begins to take form. Once complete, the Ring Road will pull an estimated 19,000 cars and trucks off Greensborough Road every day, easing congestion and creating safer, faster trips for everyone from tradies to parents on the school run. This particular tunnel project is part of a broader overhaul of the corridor between Heidelberg and Eltham – modernising tracks, gantries, wires and signalling to replace decades-old infrastructure and improve reliability along a five-kilometre stretch of the Hurstbridge Line.
The works are a piece of the wider North East Link puzzle – the state’s biggest road project, employing more than 8,000 workers and set to support over 12,000 jobs once complete. The broader overhaul – which has been in the works for decades – also included the Hurstbridge Line duplication, which delivered two brand-new stations at Greensborough and Montmorency, plus 40 extra weekly train services.
Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King called the tunnel progress “great news for locals”, thanking passengers for their patience during the works. Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams added that upgrading ageing rail infrastructure will mean “more trains, more often” – while easing road congestion at the same time.
Once the North East Link tunnels, M80 Ring Road completion and Eastern Freeway upgrades are all wrapped up in 2028, Melburnians can expect travel times slashed by up to 35 minutes – and around 15,000 fewer trucks on local roads.
For now, with trains back on track and traffic beginning to ease, travelling through Melbourne’s north-east is already getting more efficient. You can learn more about the project over here.