Where there’s smoke there’s testing at Metro Tunnel’s Arden Station

As testing continues, the team is ensuring not just that train services will run efficiently but also that passengers will be kept safe.

At Arden – the first Metro Tunnel station where construction was completed – fire safety systems underwent testing in April.

The project team worked with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to carry out tests inside the station on the concourse area and on the platform.

Crews used a fog machine to generate hot smoke with controlled flames – simulating how smoke would behave in the station in the unlikely event of a fire.

Smoke movement was measured along with speed, extraction time and the impact on emergency access points.

This fire testing is a Metro Tunnel first, with the other stations expected to undergo similar testing in coming months to ensure each station’s ventilation system is working as expected.

Construction at Parkville Station is now also complete, making it the second station on the project to be finished. Parkville Station will connect the vital hospital and education neighbourhood to the train network for the first time when it opens in 2025.

Work is continuing across the other three Metro Tunnel stations, with Myki gates recently installed at Anzac Station. The station’s artwork, Dr Raafat Ishak’s Future Wall Painting, is also now in place at the pedestrian underpass that connects the station to the Shrine of Remembrance and Albert Rd.

Nearly 300 shifts of up to 50 people have been involved with train testing for the project, which began last year. Test trains have now been running for more than 2000 hours with 18,000km travelled, in preparation for opening in 2025.

The team will start test running timetabled services with drivers and station staff in a dress rehearsal later this year, to ensure everything is ready for a safe and reliable opening for passengers.

The Metro Tunnel is the biggest upgrade to Victoria’s train network since the City Loop opened in 1981. It will connect the busy Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines via twin tunnels under the city, creating an end to-end rail line from the north-west to the south-east and better connecting all Victorians to jobs, health, and education. •

Caption: Crews tested the fire safety systems inside the station.