By Ashley Karen
The head of John Holland, the construction giant, announces the new, early completion date of Melbourne’s $12bn Metro Tunnel at a Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event.
Joe Barr, the chief executive of construction giant John Holland, told a Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event that the tunnel would commence in September 2024. Earlier this year, the government had claimed it would open in 2025, which itself was a year ahead of the initial plan.
Barr stated: “It’s exciting. We’ve been working on this thing with our partners and the government for 10 years, and next year will be the year where it is revealed.”
He added: “If you go underground in Melbourne at the moment, the trains are being tested at full speed, and we’re certainly looking forward to day one operations in September next year.”
The tunnel contains two 9km train tunnels under the CBD and will link the Sunbury line, which operates via Melbourne’s western suburbs, with the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in the city’s south-east, taking the pressure off the City Loop.
When Daniel Andrews resigned last month, he defined a test drive in the tunnel as the most satisfactory moment of his nine years as premier.
In addition, five new stations will be built, containing Anzac, near the Shrine of Remembrance, Parkville, near the University of Melbourne and several significant hospitals, and Arden, a developing area in Melbourne’s north.
Colin Brooks, the recently assigned minister for precincts, pointed out the event that the train line would change the way people travel in Melbourne and would act as a “catalyst for renewal” in areas like Arden, which he characterized as a “rundown industrial area at the end of its life cycle”.
He stated: “Arden will become a thriving new neighborhood that will accommodate 34,000 jobs and 20,000 residents.”
Brooks expressed that Melbourne’s population was predicted to reach 9 million by the 2050s, approximately the size of London today.
He claimed that more people would be forced to live further away from jobs, education, and services if the city would not “reshape” itself.
Brooks stated: “It’s our job to make sure disadvantage doesn’t evolve through lack of choice and opportunity.”
He also expressed that, flourishing central cities such as London, New York, and Singapore had all significantly invested in transport infrastructure “that encourages multiple employment and economic districts”, and pointed to the 90km Suburban Rail Loop as the state’s possible solution.
Barr also indicated that Melbourne takes inspiration from cities like Singapore. He highlighted: “Singapore has almost achieved their aspiration of a train station within 300 meters of anybody in Singapore, which is incredible.”
Barr continued: “That ability to be able to connect and get around locally in Melbourne is there because you haven’t got the same challenges as you have in Sydney, for example, with geography and geology.”
A Victorian government spokesperson stated that crews were “working around the clock” to complete the project as soon as possible.
The spokesperson noted: “The Metro Tunnel remains on track to open in 2025 – a year ahead of schedule,”
“We’re entering a complex phase of testing inside the tunnels, and it’s critical we take the time to get it right to ensure the Metro Tunnel is safe and reliable before we start passenger services.”
