Suburban rail loop contracts signed

A $3.6 BILLION contract to build twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley for the suburban rail loop has been signed.

Works on the 16 kilometre tunnels are scheduled to begin in 2026. A contract for the next section of tunnels between Glen Waverley and Box Hill is expected to be awarded this year.

Suburban Rail Loop East will link the Frankston line at Cheltenham to the Lilydale line at Box Hill via six new underground stations. It is scheduled to be completed in 2035. The next section of the rail loop between Box Hill and Melbourne Airport is not expected to be up and running until 2053.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the awarding of a contract for tunnelling works is the “next big step” for the project. “We are full steam ahead with the suburban rail loop – by 2026, tunnel boring machines will be in the ground and Victorians will be hard at work delivering a project that will slash travel times and transform our transport system,” she said.

Suburban rail loop minister Danny Pearson said the SRL East project would “equal 8,000 direct jobs and thousands more across the supply chain.”

CPB Contractors, Ghella and Acciona Construction were awarded the tunnelling contract.

As part of the suburban rail loop project, the state government will have expanded planning powers in the areas around rail loop stations (“Paper assesses precinct plan” The Times 8/9/23).

The project’s cost and its planning prior to the 2018 state election have been the subject of vocal criticism. Victorian shadow minister for transport infrastructure David Southwick said the latest contracts “have been signed despite serious concerns remaining around the cost and viability of this project, with Victorians ultimately having to pay the price.”

An Ombudsman report into the alleged politicisation of the public sector looked into the suburban rail loop project. Ombudsman Deborah Glass wrote that the project “was shrouded in excessive secrecy until it was announced as an election promise in 2018.”

“The stated reason for the secrecy – to mitigate against land speculation – does not stack up, as no land was acquired by the responsible agency before a public announcement, and in any event would not justify keeping the relevant secretary in the dark,” Glass wrote. “Since its announcement, its projected cost, evaluated by both the Auditor-General and the Parliamentary Budget Office, has increased exponentially and will dominate Victorian infrastructure spending for generations.”