More Metro Tunnel milestones ahead of 2025 opening

Trains have travelled more than 100,000km inside the Metro Tunnel – the equivalent of two-and-a-half trips around the earth’s circumference – as operator Metro Trains takes over management of the project’s three completed stations.

Station Masters and other Metro Trains staff will now be based permanently at Arden, Parkville and Anzac stations, as they carry out a range of exercises to trial day-to-day running of the stations and services.

This will include familiarisation, training and exercises such as station opening and closing procedures and station evacuations.

The Metro Tunnel is currently in two critical stages – testing and trial operations, with trains running repeatedly up and down the line as the project team continues to put the Victorian-first systems and technologies to the test.

Testing has continued progressively since the first trains entered the tunnels in mid-2023, as the project’s team of experts continue to stress test the new technology and make sure all the equipment and systems are working as designed.

Trial operations – the “dress rehearsal” for passenger services – started late last year and involves simulating a range of possible real-life scenarios, including station and train evacuations, as well as driver training.

Construction is also continuing at pace on the remaining two of the five new stations – Town Hall and State Library, despite the incredibly challenging logistics of building two train stations up to 40 metres below the city centre.

The Metro Tunnel includes five new underground stations and will be the biggest upgrade of Melbourne’s train network since the City Loop opened in 1981. •