A re-elected Andrews Government will embark upon the biggest transformation of public transport in Australia’s history, with a new underground rail network set to circle Melbourne’s suburbs and connect every major train line from the Frankston line to the Werribee line through Melbourne Airport.

The Suburban Rail Loop will deliver major benefits for people living and working in the Yuroke electorate by reducing congestion across the transport network, taking passengers off existing rail lines, taking 200,000 cars off our major roads and creating 20,000 jobs during construction.

It will mean that local people won’t have to travel into the CBD to get where they want to go. The Suburban Rail Loop will make it easier to move around Melbourne – connecting our suburbs with major employment centres, universities and TAFEs, hospitals and retail precincts.

In the last four years, the Andrews Labor Government has embarked upon the biggest transport building program ever – removing level crossings, fixing regional train lines, and building big new road and rail tunnels to free up space on the existing network.

The Suburban Rail Loop is the big, bold new project our state needs for the future – Labor’s vision for a modern, connected transport network that will help to make Melbourne one of the world’s truly great cities.

The project will commence in the south-east and run underground between Cheltenham and Box Hill – with new rail tunnels linking the Frankston, Cranbourne/Pakenham, Glen Waverley and Belgrave/Lilydale lines. The north east section will connect the Belgrave Lilydale line to the Hurstbridge, Mernda, Upfield and Craigieburn lines before heading to Melbourne Airport.

The new Airport Rail Link will form the north-west section, with the final western section connecting to the Werribee line via the new Sunshine super-hub.

The Suburban Rail Loop will deliver up to 12 new underground stations, which in the north-east could include four underground interchanges with existing lines at Heidelberg, Reservoir, Fawkner and Broadmeadows, and two potential new stations in Doncaster and the La Trobe precinct in Bundoora.

Modelling projects strong patronage in both directions throughout the day, with 400,000 trips a day by 2051 set to make it Victoria’s busiest rail line.

Labor will invest an initial $300 million in a full business case, planning and pre-construction works, with work on the first sections in Melbourne’s south east between Cheltenham and Box Hill and the connection between Sunshine and the Melbourne Airport expected to begin by the end of 2022.

Exact station locations, route alignment, rolling stock, and staging will be confirmed through the full business case and technical work, including extensive consultation and environmental assessments.

A project of this massive scale – amongst the largest in the world – will be built over multiple decades, with the first sections expected to take around a decade of construction. State, Commonwealth and private sector contributions, as well as value capture opportunities, will be required to fund the project.

Business case development, detailed design and community consultation will commence in 2019, with work on the first stage expected to begin by the end of 2022.

Quote attributable to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan

“The Suburban Rail Loop is the underground train system a growing Melbourne and Victoria needs – connecting every Victorian to jobs, education, hospitals and shopping without needing to change trains in the CBD.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Yuroke Ros Spence

“We’re upgrading car parks, adding extra train and bus services to get locals where they need to go – now we’re delivering the biggest investment in public transport in Australia’s history.”

“Suburban Rail Loop is the underground metro that our local community needs to make it easier to get to employment centres, travel to the airport, and access world-class universities, TAFEs and hospitals and retail centres in our suburbs.”