Victoria signs off on tunneling deal to begin Suburban Rail Loop
Tunneling for Melbourne's long-awaited Suburban Rail Loop is set to begin in 2026 after the Victorian government signed off on a $3.6 billion construction deal.
The major rail project will have taxpayers fork out a confirmed $11.5 billion for the initial stages, which will see 16 kilometres of tunnel dug between Cheltenham and Box Hill.
The deal comes amid backlash from the opposition and some infrastructure experts, who are worried the government will struggle to find funds for the estimated $30 billion project.
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The first section of the Suburban Rail Loop includes six new underground stations. Supplied
Once finished, the 90-kilometre train line will run from Cheltenham to Melbourne Airport and end at Werribee.
The project has been criticised at a time when the Victorian government has struggled to find money for a second major rail project linking the city to Melbourne Airport.
But Premier Jacinta Allan today said the state was determined to push ahead.
"By 2026, Victorians will be hard at work delivering a project that will slash travel times and transform our transport system," she said.
"People who are wanting to stop the Suburban Rail Loop are basically saying you may as well stay stuck in your car, you won't be able to have access to good housing."
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Jacinta Allan has defended the government's plan to push on with the suburban rail loop. 9News
Initial and early works have already begun at all the station sites, with train stations to be built at Cheltenham, Clayton, Glen Waverley, Monash, Burwood and Box Hill.
Digging works will begin in 2026 for the first 16 kilometres of the 26-kilometre rail project.
A separate contract for tunneling between Glen Waverley and Box Hill will be announced next year, and a further deal to build trains and a signaling system will be signed the following year.
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The Suburban Rail Loop will encircle Melbourne. Nine
The state has promised $9.3 billion for the project, while the Albanese government will invest $2.2 billion of the estimated $30 billion.
Independent analysis from Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Office estimates the project will cost more than $200 billion by the forecast completion date in 2084-85.
The deal has worried some infrastructure experts who claim it is draining limited public funding, amid Australia being unable to meet its infrastructure ambitions.
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Questions have been raised over how Victoria's suburban rail loop project will be funded, including from RMIT expert Michael Buxton. 9News
"The government is leaping into the dark," RMIT professor of environment and planning Michael Buxton told 9News.
"It knows that it doesn't stack up now, but it's still going ahead."
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