Timeline for Melb rail overhaul revealed

The Melbourne Metro Rail project will be ready by 2026 after the Victorian state government fast-tracked $40 million to fund planning works.

Construction can begin in 2018 after a planning phase set to be overseen by a new dedicated authority.

In all, it will take more than 10 years to plan and build the project, which will double Melbourne's city loop size and add five underground stations.

Labor has pledged a third of the $9 billion needed and hopes the federal government and the private sector will fund the remainder.

Premier Daniels Andrews said his government has not given up on getting federal funding for the project.