Series
Metro Tunnel
In this series, we bring you all you need to know on the opening of Melbourne’s biggest rail project in 40 years, featuring five new train stations under the CBD.
- Analysis
- For subscribers
Why the Metro Tunnel isn’t open early on any measure
Based on the original business case, the cross-city rail line has opened right on time.
- Patrick Hatch
Carrier pigeons and a nod to Michelangelo: Inside the Metro Tunnel art
It’s a brave artist who takes on a public art commission, and I imagine a particularly daunting task making public art for a train station.
- Gabriella Coslovich
‘Out of the station and into a paddock’: Arden station is open, so where’s the suburb?
Arden is meant to be the latest attempt to turn a patch of gritty industrial land into a thriving suburb. But the precinct faces flood risks and a 30-year build-out.
- Rachael Dexter
- Analysis
What works – and what doesn’t – in the new Metro Tunnel
Melbourne’s new underground rail line has now been open for five days. Here’s what’s good, what’s bad and what could be improved about the Metro Tunnel.
- Patrick Hatch
The potato chip and the crypt: Inside the Metro Tunnel’s designs
From “whisper walls” to celebrating concrete, the designs of the Metro Tunnel are as varied as the landscapes in which they sit.
- Cara Waters
How Melbourne’s train network stacks up against the best in the world
With the addition of the $15 billion Metro Tunnel, the train network comprises 16 lines connecting 227 stations via 1000 kilometres of track.
- Cara Waters
First weekday passengers travel on new services; Firefighters’ union responds to trespassing claims
Look back at live coverage of the second day of train services running through the Metro Tunnel on a reduced summer timetable.
- Cassandra Morgan, Gemma Grant and Patrick Hatch
‘Bloody amazing’: Metro Tunnel opens to huge crowds, minor hiccups
Melbourne’s new cross-city rail line opened to passengers for the first time on Sunday, marking the biggest upgrade to the city’s public transport system since the City Loop opened more than four decades ago.
- Patrick Hatch and Kieran Rooney
- Opinion
Keep hold of your timetable: Metro Tunnel is spectacular, but it won’t transform Melbourne yet
The opening of the $15 billion underground train line deserves celebration, but it won’t be a game changer without more frequent services and continued investment.
- Cara Waters
To chants and cheers, Melbourne enters its ‘new era of train travel’
The mood at the launch of the new Metro Tunnel was electric, as the city was brought together for a moment of joy.
- Kieran Rooney, Patrick Hatch and Gemma Grant
Cheers as first trains travel through Metro Tunnel; Delays after fire alarm, door issues
Look back at live coverage of news and commuter views from the opening of the Metro Tunnel.
- Ashleigh McMillan
Ray’s Metro Tunnel idea was blocked. So he broke the rules (and won)
We reveal the secret history of how Melbourne’s landmark rail network project became a reality almost three decades later in a series of fortunate coincidences.
- Patrick Hatch
Harveen’s daily trips will be 40 minutes shorter. Here’s how the Metro Tunnel will change your commute
Many journeys will be quicker and easier. Some people face slightly longer commutes. Find out all you need to know about Melbourne’s new cross-city rail line.
- Patrick Hatch
‘Pretty hairy stuff’: The heart-in-mouth moment that put Metro Tunnel builders on edge
The Metro Tunnel had many “heart-in-mouth” moments for its engineers, but it has been hailed as a triumph.
- Kieran Rooney
After the shovels were done came more challenges for the Metro Tunnel and lessons from London
When software engineers in Kyiv joined the front line, the project’s complex signalling development was thrown into chaos.
- Kieran Rooney
- Opinion
A moment to marvel: Metro Tunnel shows what can be accomplished
Bringing the Metro Tunnel into being has involved overcoming many difficulties, but its opening is a time to see the heights that our city can reach as deep as 42 metres beneath the ground.
- The Age's View
- Opinion
Thousands had a say about the new station names. This is what they ended up with?
Were the authorities really so afraid of Station McStationface that they had to lump us with a bunch of uninspiring names for the new hubs?
- Darren McClelland
The city’s ‘greatest blight’ and a would-be casino: This Melbourne landmark is finally coming into its own
Over the years Melbourne’s City Square has been described as grey and desolate, but the Metro Tunnel’s opening this weekend has given the space a “glow-up”.
- Cara Waters
First look: The five new stations of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel in pictures
Take a visual tour of the Metro Tunnel’s stations before it opens to the public on November 30.
- Cassidy Knowlton
- Updated
Metro Tunnel opening set, more funds for Suburban Rail Loop in bumper day for Big Build
The long-anticipated opening of the $15.5 billion project has been unveiled, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed more money for the Suburban Rail Loop.
- Kieran Rooney
‘Panic stations’: Union, operator at loggerheads over Metro Tunnel staffing levels
Staff needed for the opening of the Metro Tunnel are not being replaced across the network, the state’s public transport union has warned.
- Kieran Rooney and Patrick Hatch
- Updated
Melbourne Metro Tunnel on track for December ‘soft launch’ before full services start in February
Trains will run only every 20 minutes and in off-peak hours at first, and commuters must wait a further two months for a full timetable.
- Patrick Hatch and Kieran Rooney
Allan defends prioritising Metro Tunnel press conference over social services event
The premier was scheduled to appear at a major social services event on Monday morning. Instead, she held a press conference to spruik a new train station.
- Daniella White and Chip Le Grand
Final Metro Tunnel station complete, as cause of mystery shutdown revealed
The new State Library station is finished and the Metro Tunnel project in its final phase after builders grappled with electromagnetic interference that caused a five-hour shutdown during train trials last month.
- Rachael Dexter, Kieran Rooney and Patrick Hatch
Melbourne’s first new train station in 40 years is finished – with two key new pieces of tech
Construction on the first new Melbourne CBD train station in more than 40 years is finally finished: Town Hall Station, dug 27 metres below Swanston Street.
- Liam Mannix
- Exclusive
Train drivers stranded in Metro Tunnel for five hours during testing glitch
Metro Trains did not disclose the cause of the fault but said it had investigated and instituted “mitigations” to ensure the issue does not occur when the tunnel opens to passengers.
- Patrick Hatch
The sophisticated tech that will allow Metro Tunnel trains to stop with pinpoint accuracy
A final program of testing and trials is under way before the Metro Tunnel opens to passengers.
- Patrick Hatch
Metro Tunnel builders blame design faults for project headaches, delays
Dozens of design faults that have plagued Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel project have been revealed in a court case launched by the firms building the $15 billion underground rail line.
- Patrick Hatch
Metro Tunnel was meant to open on Sunday, but train services are months away
The underground rail line and five new stations were slated to open on June 29 and builders were even offered a $143 million carrot to get there, but construction and testing delays are stretching the timetable.
- Nicole Precel and Ashleigh McMillan
- Exclusive
Metro Tunnel’s promise to commuters pushed out to 2026
The $15 billion tunnel and five new stations are expected to open in November, but only with limited off-peak services due to construction and testing delays.
- Patrick Hatch and Kieran Rooney
- Exclusive
Taxpayers fork out almost $500m to shield Metro Trains from pandemic fallout
Victoria is paying Metro Trains to offset lower passenger revenue, ensuring the private rail operator records bumper profits despite patronage falling as a result of work-from-home habits.
- Patrick Hatch and Kieran Rooney
Busy train lines closing for works as Metro Tunnel trial looms
Passengers will board trains bound for the Metro Tunnel and its five new stations for the first time, but will need to wait to travel through the tunnel itself.
- Patrick Hatch
- Exclusive
‘No place for this’: New CFMEU boss slams Metro Tunnel ‘ghost shift’ scandal
The new boss of Victoria’s embattled construction union has lashed out at those allegedly responsible for corrupting the Allan government’s giant project.
- Nick McKenzie and Sarah Danckert
Cost of Victoria’s major projects jumps $11.6 billion in a year
The auditor-general has found that 53 of 113 major state projects would cost a combined $14.9 billion more than first budgeted.
- Rachel Eddie
Quiet cuts to Metro Tunnel scope raise questions over what services will actually be delivered
Commuters could miss out on the full benefits of the $15 billion project because related network upgrades have been cut to rein in the ballooning budget.
- Patrick Hatch
‘Incredibly disrespectful’: MPs back calls to change racist station name
The name Arden is completely inappropriate for one of the new Metro Tunnel stations, state Greens leader Ellen Sandell says.
- Carolyn Webb
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