Railways in Melbourne

Metro Trains Melbourne operates the Melbourne metropolitan rail network under franchise from the Victorian Government, overseen by Transport Victoria, a division of the Department of Transport and Planning. The government-owned entity V/Line operates trains from Melbourne across regional Victoria. The first steam train in Australia commenced service in Melbourne in 1854 between Flinders Street and Sandridge, with the metropolitan rail network having grown over the last two centuries to cover much of the city and greater Melbourne area.

The metropolitan network is a suburban rail system designed to transport passengers from Melbourne's suburbs into the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and associated city loop stations, with the main hub at Flinders Street station. Southern Cross station is the main interchange station between metropolitan and regional V/Line services. The Metro Tunnel project opened in December 2025 to increase rail capacity within the CBD and relieve pressure from the City Loop.

A total length of 1,000 km (620 mi) of track is owned by VicTrack and leased to train operators through Transport Victoria. The railway network is primarily at ground level, with some underground and elevated sections. There were more than 170 level crossings before the Level Crossing Removal Project commenced in 2015 to grade separate 110 of the busiest crossings and rebuild 51 railway stations, with 96 crossings removed by October 2026. The metropolitan network operates primarily between 5:00 a.m. and midnight, with overnight services on Friday night to Saturday morning and Saturday night to Sunday morning, departing from Flinders Street only. Some tracks are also used by freight trains and V/Line regional services.

In addition to the primary commuter and freight railway networks, Melbourne also features heritage railways such as Puffing Billy and has the world's largest urban tram network.

History

First railway

On 7 September 1851, a public meeting called for the construction of Australia's first railway to link Melbourne and Sandridge (now known as Port Melbourne), which led to the establishment of the privately owned Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company in 1853.

On 8 February 1853, the Government also approved the establishment of the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company and the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company. Work began in March 1853 on the Sandridge railway line, stretching 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the Melbourne (or City) terminus (on the site of modern-day Flinders Street station) to Sandridge. The line was owned and operated by Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company, opening in 1854.

In 1855, the Government conducted enquiries and carried out surveys into country railways. On 1 April 1856, the Railway Department was established as part of the Board of Land and Works with George Christian Darbyshire being appointed Engineer in Chief. On 23 May of that year the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company was taken over by the Government.

Trains were ordered from Robert Stephenson and Company of the United Kingdom. The first train was locally built by Robertson, Martin & Smith, however, owing to delays in shipping. Australia's first steam locomotive was built in ten weeks and cost £2,700. Forming the first steam train to travel in Australia, it made its maiden trip on 12 September 1854.

The opening of the line occurred during the period of the Victorian gold rush—a time when both Melbourne and Victoria undertook massive capital works, each with its gala opening. The inaugural journey on the Sandridge line was no exception. According to the Argus newspaper's report of the next day: "Long before the hour appointed . . . a great crowd assembled round the station at the Melbourne terminus, lining the whole of Flinders Street". Lieutenant-Governor Sir Charles Hotham and Lady Hotham were aboard the train—which consisted of two first-class carriages and one-second class—and were presented with satin copies of the railway's timetable and bylaws.

The trip took 10 minutes, none of the later stations along the line having been built. On arriving at Station Pier (onto which the tracks extended), it was hailed with gun salutes by the warships HMS Electra and HMS Fantome.

By March 1855, the four engines ordered from the UK were all in service, with trains running every half-hour. They were named Melbourne, Sandridge, Victoria, and Yarra (after the Yarra River over which the line crossed).

Early private companies

The Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company opened Melbourne's second railway on 13 May 1857, a 4.5 km (2.8 mi) line from the Melbourne (or City) Terminus to St Kilda. The line was later extended by the St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company, which opened a line from St Kilda to Brighton in 1857.

The first country line opened in 1857 when the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company started services on its line from Geelong to Newport. In 1859, the government-owned Victorian Railways Williamstown line opened, connecting Williamstown and Geelong to Spencer Street station.

More country lines followed in 1859 when the Victorian Railways opened a line from Footscray, on the Williamstown line, to Sunbury. The Victorian Railways had taken over construction from the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company, established in 1853 to build a railway to Echuca, but which had failed to make any progress.

The first line to Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs was opened in 1859 by the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company, running from Princes Bridge railway station to Punt Road (Richmond), South Yarra, and Prahran. That line was extended to Windsor in 1860, connecting with the St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company line from St Kilda. The new line replaced the indirect St Kilda and Windsor line to the city, which was closed in 1867.

Another suburban line was built by the Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company in 1860, running from North Melbourne to Essendon, with a branch line from Newmarket to Flemington Racecourse, which opened in 1861. On the eastern side of the city, the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company opened a branch line from Richmond to Burnley and Hawthorn in 1861.

By that point, the railways of Melbourne were a disjointed group of city-centric lines, with various companies operating from three unconnected city terminals—Princes Bridge, Flinders Street, and Spencer Street stations.

The smaller companies quickly encountered financial problems. The St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company and Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company were absorbed by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company in 1865, forming the Melbourne and Hobsons Bay United Railway Company. The Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company was taken over by the Victorian Government in 1867. The Melbourne and Hobsons Bay United Railway Company was not taken over by the Victorian Government until 1878.

The terminals themselves were linked in 1879, when the track was built at street level along the southern side of Flinders Street, connecting with Spencer Street station, although the track was only used at night, for freight traffic. It was not until 1889 that the two-track Flinders Street Viaduct was built between the two city terminus stations.

The outward expansion also continued, with major trunk lines being opened in rural Victoria. The Victorian Railways extended its line to Broadmeadows in 1872, as part of the line to Seymour and Albury-Wodonga. In 1879, the Gippsland line was opened from South Yarra to Caulfield, Pakenham and Bairnsdale.

Land boom lines

The 1870s and 1880s were a time of great growth and prosperity in Melbourne. Land speculation companies were formed, to buy up outer suburban land cheaply, and to agitate for suburban railways to be built or extended to serve those land holdings and increase land values. By 1880, the "Land Boom" was in full swing in Victoria, re-elected in the passing of the Railway Construction Act 1884, later known as the Octopus Act, which authorised the building of 66 railway lines throughout the state.

The Frankston line began with the opening of a line from Caulfield to Mordialloc in 1881, reaching the terminus in 1882. A second new suburban railway line was opened from Spencer Street Station to Coburg in 1884, and extended to Somerton in 1889, meeting the main line from Spencer Street to Wodonga. Land developers opened a private railway from Newport to Altona in 1888, but it was closed in 1890, due to lack of demand.

The line from Hawthorn was extended, to Camberwell in 1882, Lilydale in 1883, and Healesville in 1889. In addition, a branch line (now known as the Belgrave line) was opened from Ringwood to Upper Ferntree Gully in 1889. A short branch two station was also opened from Hawthorn to Kew in 1887. The Brighton Beach line was also extended to Sandringham in 1887.

In 1888, railways came to the northeastern suburbs with the opening of the Inner Circle line from Spencer Street station via Royal Park station to what is now Victoria Park station, and then on to Heidelberg. A branch was also opened off the Inner Circle in Fitzroy North, to Epping and Whittlesea in 1888 and 1889. Trains between Spencer Street and Heidelberg reversed at Victoria Park until a link was opened between Victoria Park and Princes Bridge in 1901.

The Outer Circle line opened in 1890, linking Oakleigh (on the Gippsland line) to Riversdale (with a branch to Camberwell on the Lilydale line) and Fairfield (on the Heidelberg line). Originally envisaged to link the Gippsland line with Spencer Street station in the 1870s, this reason disappeared with the building of a direct link via South Yarra before the line had even opened. The line saw little traffic as it traversed empty paddocks, and with no through traffic, the Outer Circle was closed in sections between 1893 and 1897. The Camberwell to Ashburton stretch of the Outer Circle re-opened in 1899, and then in 1900, part of the northern section of the Outer Circle reopened as a shuttle service between East Camberwell and Deepdene station. This line closed in 1927.

At the same time as the Outer Circle, a railway was opened from Burnley to Darling and a junction with the Outer Circle at Waverley Road (near the current East Malvern station). A stub of the future Glen Waverley line, it was cut back to Darling in 1895.

Railway building during the land boom hit a peak with the construction of the Rosstown Railway between Elsternwick and Oakleigh. Built by William Murry Ross, the line was planned in the 1870s to serve a sugar beet mill near Caulfield. Construction commenced in 1883, followed by rebuilding in 1888. Ross's debts grew, and he attempted to sell the line many times without success. It never opened to traffic and was later dismantled.

The stock market crash of early 1890s led to an extended period of economic depression in Victoria and put an end to most railway construction until the next decade.

By the 1900s, the driving force for new railway lines was agriculturalists in what are now Melbourne's outer suburbs. In the Dandenong Ranges a narrow gauge 762 mm line was opened from Upper Ferntree Gully to Belgrave and Gembrook in 1900 to serve the local farming and timber community. In the Yarra Valley, a branch was opened from Lilydale to Yarra Junction and Warburton in 1901. Part of this line is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

In 1901, in preparation for the occasion of a royal visit by the Duke of York, the first Australian royal train was assembled in Melbourne.

The Heidelberg line was extended to Eltham in 1902 and Hurstbridge in 1912. The freight-only Mont Park line was also opened in 1911, branching from Macleod. Finally, on the Mornington Peninsula, a branch was built from Bittern to Red Hill in 1921.

Electrification

Planning for electrification was started by Victorian Railways chairman Thomas James Tait, who engaged English engineer Charles Hesterman Merz to deliver a report on the electrification of the Melbourne suburban network. His first report in 1908 recommended a three-stage plan over two years, covering 200 route-kilometres existing lines and almost 500 suburban carriages (approximately 80 trains). The report was considered by the Government and the Railway Commissioners, and Merz was engaged to deliver a second report based on their feedback.

Delivered in 1912, this second report recommended an expanded system of electrification to 240 route km. of existing lines (463 track km), and almost 800 suburban carriages (approximately 130 trains). The works were approved by the State Government in December 1912. It was envisaged that the first electric trains would be running by 1915, and the project would be completed by 1917. However, progress fell behind because World War I restrictions prevented electrical equipment from being imported from the United Kingdom.

Rolling stock construction continued, with several older suburban carriages converted for electric use as the Swing Door trains, while the first of the Tait trains were introduced as steam-hauled carriages. Track expansion was also carried out, with four tracks being provided between South Yarra and Caulfield, as well as grade separation from roads. Victorian Railways in 1918 opened the Newport Power Station, the largest power station in the urban area, to supply electricity as part of the electrification project. The State Electricity Commission of Victoria was formed in 1921 but did not take over Newport A power station until 1951.

The first trials did not occur until October 1918 on the Flemington Racecourse line. Driver training continued on this line until 18 May 1919, when the first electric train ran between Sandringham and Essendon, simulating revenue services. Electric services started on 28 May 1919 with the first train running to Essendon, then on to Sandringham, with full services starting the next day. The Burnley–Darling line, the Fawkner line, the reopened branch to Altona, and the Williamstown line followed in 1920.

The line to Broadmeadows, the Whittlesea line to Reservoir, the Bendigo line to St Albans, and the inner sections of the Hurstbridge line was electrified in 1921. The Gippsland line to Dandenong and Frankston line were electrified in 1922, as was the inner section of the Ringwood line due to regrading works.

The original electrification scheme was completed in 1923, but over the next three years, several short extensions were carried out. The Ashburton line was electrified in 1924, and final works on the Lilydale line were completed in 1925, as was electrification on the line to Upper Ferntree Gully. Electrification on the outer ends of the Hurstbridge line was completed by 1926, the Whittlesea line to Thomastown was electrified in 1929, and the Burnley – Darling line was extended to Glen Waverley in 1930 to become the Glen Waverley line.

Post-War rebuilding

Railways experienced increased patronage into the 1940s, but railway improvements recommended in the Ashworth Improvement Plan were delayed until after World War II. It was not until 1950 that the Victorian Railways were able to put their Operation Phoenix rebuilding plan into action. The delivery of the Harris trains, the first steel suburban trains on the network, enabled the retirement of the oldest of the Swing Door trains.

Railway lines were extended during this period to encompass Melbourne's growing suburbia. The Ashburton line was extended along the old Outer Circle track formation to Alamein station in 1948. The Fawkner line to Upfield and the Reservoir line to Lalor were both electrified in 1959, the Epping line reaching Epping in 1964. A great deal of track amplification was also undertaken, with several single-line sections eliminated.

The Upper Ferntree Gully to Belgrave section of the Gembrook narrow gauge line was converted to broad gauge and electrified in 1962. The remainder of the line was closed in 1954 but has been progressively reopened by the Puffing Billy Railway. The Gippsland line was electrified in 1954 as part of the works being carried out on the line, but suburban services to Pakenham did not start until 1975.

During this rebuilding, several little-used lines were closed on the edges of Melbourne. The Bittern to Red Hill line and the Kew branch both closed in 1953, the line between Lalor railway station and Whittlesea closed in 1959, and the Lilydale to Warburton line closed in 1964. The final stages of the rebuilding stretched into the 1970s, with track amplification carried out to Footscray, and Box Hill, and the first deliveries of the stainless steel Hitachi trains.

Detailed planning for the Doncaster line also commenced in that period and, by 1972, the route was finalised. Despite rising costs, state governments of the period continued to give assurances that the line would be built but, by 1984, land reserved for the line had been sold.

Modernisation

By the 1970s, Melbourne's railway network was run down, with the last major investment on the suburban tracks having taken place nearly fifty years earlier. Sixty-year-old Tait trains (known colloquially as "red rattlers") were still in operation, and inner city congestion at Flinders Street led to peak hour delays. In February 1971, the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Act was passed, establishing the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Authority (MURLA) to build a connecting series of tunnels from the major stations along the north, south, east and west extremities of the Melbourne CBD. The project ran for over 14 years, opening progressively between 1981 and 1985. The loop was designed and constructed to improve the capacity of Flinders Street and Spencer Street stations to handle suburban trains and to offer easier connections for users.

Other major changes took place in 1976 when the government authority overseeing Victorian Railways became VicRail and was gradually restructured along corporate lines. Following the restructure, in 1980 the Victorian Transport Study, better known as the Lonie Report, was delivered and called for financial rationalisation. The closure of the Port Melbourne, St. Kilda, Altona, Williamstown, Alamein and Sandringham lines was also recommended, along with their replacement with bus routes instead. These recommendations and cuts were not enacted, however many uneconomical branch lines were closed throughout the rest of the state. The line between Lilydale and Healesville was closed in 1980, now used by the Yarra Valley Railway beyond Yarra Glen. The branch from Baxter to Mornington was closed in 1981, but the line south of Moorooduc is now operated by the Mornington Railway as a tourist route.

The Metrol train control centre was opened in 1980 to coordinate trains throughout the network using computer software that remains in use today. Public transport in Melbourne was also reorganised, with the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) formed in 1983 to coordinate all train, tram and bus services in the city to improve interoperability. With the electrification of the Werribee line in 1983, followed two years later by an extension of the Altona line to Laverton, and the City Loop in full operation by 1985, the last major modernisation of Melbourne's train lines in the 20th century was complete.

Isolated from the City Loop, the Port Melbourne and St Kilda lines were converted to standard gauge light rail in 1987 to accommodate tram routes 111 (now Route 109) and 96. Route 96 remains one of the world's top 10 tram routes and Melbourne's busiest.

The early 1990s saw further changes, with the MTA reborn as the Public Transport Corporation, trading as "The Met".

State governments of both sides of politics began to push for reform of the railway network, proposing the conversion of the Upfield, Williamstown and Alamein lines to light rail. Those proposals were not proceeded with, and the Upfield line received a series of upgrades to replace labour-intensive manual signalling systems. Federal government funding was made available for the electrification of the South Gippsland line, which was completed in 1995. Rationalisation of the Jolimont rail yard commenced, enabling the creation and expansion of Melbourne Park in 1988 and 1996, and the future construction of Federation Square in 2001.

After the election of the Kennett government in 1992, several controversial reforms to the operation of the railway system were initiated. Guards were removed from suburban trains and train drivers took over the task of door operation. Stations were de-staffed, and the Metcard ticketing system was introduced to replace the scratch-card system. Over that period more than $250 million in operating costs were stripped from the Melbourne network, as the government sought to reign in the state debt of $32 billion.

Privatisation

In 1998, "The Met" was split into two operating units—Hillside Trains and Bayside Trains―each franchised to a different private operator. Ownership of land and infrastructure of rail and tram services was transferred to a new Victorian Government agency, VicTrack. In addition, a statutory office was created in Government—the Director of Public Transport—with specific responsibility for entering into franchise agreements with public transport operators to operate rail and tram services throughout Victoria. By 1999, the privatisation process was complete, with Connex Melbourne and M>Train operating half of the network. In 2003, the parent company of M>Train (National Express) withdrew from operating public transport in Victoria, and half of the suburban network was transferred to Connex as part of a renegotiated contract.

The franchising contracts contained provisions for the new operators to refurbish the Comeng trains, and to replace the older Hitachi trains. Connex purchased Alstom X'Trapolis sets, while M>Train chose Siemens Nexas units.

In May 2005, the State Government commissioned a A$25 million study into the feasibility of a third track for the Dandenong line to increase capacity for the rapidly growing suburban area. The cost of the triplication process was expected to be as high as A$1 billion, as project activities would have included the organization of corresponding bus services for the rail line, changes to stations and platforms along the line, and the improvement of the signalling system. This project was ultimately sidelined and not delivered by the Brumby Government.

In 2006, Professor Paul Mees and a group of academics estimated that privatisation had cost taxpayers $1.2 billion more than if the system had remained both publicly owned and operated. With the franchise extensions in 2009, taxpayers were to pay an estimated $2.1 billion more by 2010. However, the Institute of Public Affairs released its report on Melbourne's privatisation, which assessed it as a modest success and observed that a 37.6% increase in patronage on the metropolitan rail system had reversed years of patronage decline due to poor quality services. The Auditor General of Victoria also performed a comprehensive audit report into the franchises and found that "the franchises represent reasonable value for money".

Ridership boom and Metro Trains Melbourne

Beginning in the mid-2000s, a rapid increase in patronage of Melbourne's train network occurred. In the three years between the financial year 2005 and 2008, rail patronage grew by 35 per cent. Trips grew from 148 million in 2004 to more than 200 million in 2008.

In November 2007, Singapore's SMRT Transit and Hong Kong's MTR Corporation Limited expressed interest in taking control of Melbourne's suburban rail network from Connex in November 2009, when their contract was to be reviewed.

On 25 June 2009, Connex lost its bid to renew its contract with the Victorian Government. Hong Kong backed and owned MTR Corporation took over the Melbourne train network on 30 November 2009, operating as a locally themed consortium Metro Trains Melbourne. MTR is a non-public railway owner and operator in Hong Kong where it is well known for constructing Transit Oriented Developments (TODS) above and around its stations. Metro began operation on 1 December 2009, promising to draw on its international experience to improve Melbourne's rail operations.

Transport minister Lynne Kosky stated that the Government's A$10.5 billion, 10-year major transport plan, announced in May 2006, had significantly underestimated the usage rates of public transport. Original assessments had forecast increases of around 3–4%, far short of the 10% seen year-on-year. The State Government responded by purchasing new trains and introducing a new ticketing option that enabled commuters to pay a reduced fare if their journey finished by 7 am.

In 2008, the Brumby Government announced a $14.1 billion Victorian Transport Plan to augment Melbourne's rail network. The plan included:

• The Metro Tunnel, costing more than $4.5 billion, consists of an underground train network —the first new underground rail line since the construction of the City Loop 25 years earlier— from Dynon to South Yarra. Aimed at "relieving overcrowding on the busy suburban lines from Melbourne’s west," the underground line was also designed to provide direct rail access to Melbourne University, the Women's Hospital and the Royal Children's Hospital.
• Rolling stock, $2.65 billion for up to 70 new trains, including 32 High Capacity Metro Trains.
• Rail extensions to Cranbourne East and Mernda, and electrification to Melton.
• Improvements to train operations, for $200 million.
• Upgrades to metro stations, costing $50 million, and new stations in growth areas for $220 million.
• A Park & Ride expansion package costing $60 million.
• The previously reduced Early Bird ticket was also made free as part of these changes, following a trial on the Frankston and Sydenham lines.

Following the investment announcement, the plan for the introduction of more than 200 new weekly train services was released to tackle overcrowding on the city's busiest train lines, a problem that had been attributed to a lack of trains and falling reliability.

On 1 May 2009, the State Government announced that they had committed $562.3 million in the 2009 State Budget for the extension of the Epping line 3.5 kilometres north to South Morang. Construction started in 2010 and was completed in 2012.

Network development and level-crossing removals

In May 2011, operations commenced on a new metropolitan timetable, rewritten for the first time since 1996 with over 600 additional weekday services added. In 2012, a Public Transport Development Authority trading as Public Transport Victoria (now Transport Victoria) was established to coordinate, plan and regulate the state's public transport services, including the metropolitan rail system. In the same year, the Metcard ticketing system was discontinued, completing the controversial network-wide roll-out of the new Myki smart card system. On 27 March 2013, Public Transport Victoria published its Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail, detailing a 4-stage plan spread over 20 years to redevelop Melbourne's rail system into a "metro-style" network, by separating train lines and creating point-to-point lines, upgrading to high-capacity signalling and ordering new trains.

A key campaign promise of the Andrews government before its election in 2014 was to remove 50 level crossings in eight years, the most intensive such program in Melbourne's history. Because of Melbourne's generally level topography, the suburban rail network was constructed with a large number of level crossings. By 2014, over 170 remained, due to a lack of funding for grade separations after 1918. The Government's Level Crossing Removal Project became a resounding political success, despite concerns it was creating poor value-for-money infrastructure and controversy about the selection of elevated rail as a method for removing some crossings.

By 2018, 29 level crossings had been fully grade-separated, well ahead of the government's original schedule, and a further 25 crossings were added to the program to be completed by 2025. The project includes rebuilding or upgrading 27 train stations, such as Bentleigh and Clayton railway stations, or laying new tracks, such as the duplication of 1.2 km (0.75 mi) of single-track railway between Heidelberg and the rebuilt Rosanna stations. Large sections of elevated rail have been built on the Gippsland line, and further sections were planned for the Mernda and Upfield lines, including a 4 km (2.49 mi) section on the Mernda line in Preston.

In mid-2015, the Regional Rail Link project was completed. It created a new Deer Park–West Werribee railway line in the city's west, with stations at Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, as well as adding a pair of non-electrified tracks between Sunshine and Southern Cross for regional trains. Although the project was intended to provide routes for regional trains to Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo segregated from electrified Metro services, rapid population growth in areas served by the new line meant that V/Line trains had to perform the role of an outer suburban service, causing significant delays and overcrowding.

A redesigned network map was released by PTV at the end of 2016, which replaced an emphasis on fare zones with a delineation of individual lines and service patterns. The new map also incorporated regional services and was designed to be accessible to passengers with the most common types of colour blindness.

Metro's contract to operate the suburban network was renewed in 2017 for a further seven years. The renegotiated contracts included higher monthly performance targets, which Metro failed to meet six times in the first year of the contract's operation.

Construction of an extension of the South Morang line to Mernda commenced in 2016 and was opened on 29 August 2018. The project included 8 km (4.97 mi) of new electrified railway, new stations at Middle Gorge and Hawkstowe, and a new terminus at a rebuilt Mernda station.

In April 2019, the Victorian Government announced that Public Transport Victoria would be merged with VicRoads under a new Department of Transport and Planning, providing public-facing transport information using the brand "Transport Victoria".

Metro Tunnel

In February 2015, the State Government established the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority to oversee planning for new twin nine-kilometre rail tunnels through the central city, between South Kensington station and South Yarra. The Metro Tunnel will have five new underground stations and connect the Gippsland line with the Sunbury line, creating a new route through the CBD as an alternative to the City Loop. New underground stations will be built at Arden, Parkville, Domain and there will be two new CBD stations, State Library and Town Hall. Enabling works were underway by 2016 and major construction work on the tunnel and stations began in 2017. The project has an estimated cost of $11 billion and is scheduled to be complete by 2025.

In September 2016, the State Government ordered 65 new High Capacity Metro Trains for delivery from mid-2019, which will eventually become the primary rolling stock used in the Metro Tunnel.

In April, June and July 2019, a number of rail lines in Melbourne's east were shut down for several weeks to allow construction of the tunnel entrances near Kensington and South Yarra. The first tunnel boring machine began to be assembled in North Melbourne in June 2019. In May 2021, TBM Meg broke through at the future site of Town Hall station, marking the completion of tunnelling for the project. TBM Millie, Alice and Joan completed tunnelling over the previous month. The tunnelling phase lasted 20 months.