The Suburban Rail Loop is the only project that will connect Victoria and slash congestion across Melbourne with new data showing Sunbury passengers set to be big winners.

The Suburban Rail Loop is the visionary project our state needs – a 90km rail ring around Melbourne’s suburbs, with 12 new underground stations connecting every major rail line in Victoria.

A re-elected Andrews Labor Government will invest an initial $300 million in a full business case, planning and pre-construction works, with work on the first sections in Melbourne’s south east between Cheltenham and Box Hill and the connection between Sunshine and the Melbourne Airport expected to begin by the end of 2022.

Further detail of the extensive transport modelling provided by experts at Development Victoria and PwC has today also been released by the Labor Government.

It shows that travel times across Melbourne will be completely slashed – connecting Victorians via fast public transport to key employment, jobs, education and health precincts for the first time.

The Suburban Rail Loop will deliver a massive boost across the network – with up to 20 per cent fewer passengers on some lines meaning more space for city-bound passengers, including those on the Sunbury line.

Currently, Victorians need to travel on existing rail lines in to the CBD and back out again, just to get where the need to go. By providing a direct underground route to our biggest jobs, health and education precincts, the Suburban Rail Loop will take thousands of passengers off existing rail lines.

Exact station locations, route alignment, rolling stock, and staging will be confirmed through the full business case and technical work, including extensive consultation and environmental assessments.

A project of this massive scale – amongst the largest in the world – will be built over multiple decades, with the first sections expected to take around a decade of construction. State, Commonwealth and private sector contributions, as well as value capture opportunities, will be required to fund the project.

Business case development, detailed design and community consultation will commence in 2019, with work on the first stage expected to begin by the end of 2022.

Quote attributable to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan

“The Suburban Rail Loop is the underground train system a growing Melbourne and Victoria needs – connecting every Victorian to jobs, education, hospitals and shopping without needing to change trains in the CBD.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Sunbury Josh Bull

 “We’ve added extra train services, invested in local bus routes, upgrading and building new car parks and now we are delivering the biggest investment in public transport in Australia’s history.

“Suburban Rail Loop is the underground metro that our community needs to make it easier to get to employment centres, travel to the airport, and access world-class universities, TAFEs and hospitals and retail centres in our suburbs.”