The Allan Labor Government is kicking off major construction works on the Suburban Rail Loop to slash travel times, connect our suburbs, deliver more homes and cut congestion on our roads.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Suburban Rail Loop Harriet Shing today visited the tunnel boring machine launch site in Clarinda, where major construction has begun ahead of the start of tunnelling next year.
Tunnel boring machines (TBM) will arrive this year before they start carving out the southern section of the twin Suburban Rail Loop tunnels.
The TBMs will help dig the new orbital rail connection, which will take pressure off outer suburbs, ease congestion and improve travel times for 80 per cent of Melbournians - no matter how you travel. The Suburban Rail Loop East and North stages alone are expected to take more than 600,000 cars off the road every day.
The Suburban Rail Loop is Australia's largest housing project. With Melbourne expected to reach the size of London by the 2050s, it will deliver 70,000 more homes on the doorstep of healthcare, education precincts and jobs.
The SRL has now been backed by Victorians at four consecutive elections, and only Labor Governments will work in partnership to get it done. In contrast, the Liberals have been loud and clear - they don't support this project and were more than happy to cut funding and put even more pressure on our roads.
Consortium Suburban Connect will build 16 kilometres of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, while Terra Verde is building the tunnels north of Glen Waverley to Box Hill. From next year, TBMs will be launched from Clarinda - two digging towards Glen Waverley, and two towards Cheltenham.
In an Australian-first, the TBMs will start their journeys through 'flying launches', which allows tunnelling to begin while the TBM continues to be built from behind from a smaller launching area and minimise disruption. In total, each TBM will take about three months to assemble and will travel up to 90 metres a week.
In Burwood, excavation of the second SRL East TBM launch site has just past the half-way mark and is on track to be finished by mid-year - with tunnelling from Burwood to Glen Waverley also set to begin in 2026.
Construction of Suburban Rail Loop East from Cheltenham to Box Hill is creating up to 8,000 direct jobs, with more than 3,000 people already working on the project - and trains will be running in 2035.
As stated by Premier Jacinta Allan
"Victorians have backed this project time and time again, and we're cracking on."
"The Suburban Rail Loop delivers better public transport and less congestion on the roads. Victorians get it. Liberals don't."
As stated by Minister for Suburban Rail Loop and Housing Harriet Shing
"With major construction underway on the Suburban Rail Loop we are closer every day to delivering more opportunities and more homes for Victorian families, exactly where we need them."
"Brad Battin and the Victorian Liberals don't support this project and they've got no plans to address the housing shortage. True to form, they're happy to sack 4,000 construction workers, and block 70,000 new homes for young people."
As stated by Member for Clarinda Meng Heang Tak
"The Suburban Rail Loop is powering ahead with major works kicking off in Clarinda as we gear up for tunnelling next year."
