11 May 2026
Major construction is powering ahead
Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East from Cheltenham to Box Hill is in major construction. The SRL East will deliver 26km of twin-tunnels with 6 new underground stations and a dedicated train stabling facility near the start of the line to allow SRL's fleet of new high-tech trains to begin services efficiently each day.
The train stabling facility in Heatherton will house the operational control centre for the new railway line and is where trains will be cleaned, stored and maintained when not in service.
Tunnelling starts this year
Significant work has already been completed in Heatherton and Clarinda.
A massive tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch site is taking shape in Clarinda, in preparation for the start of tunnelling later this year. TBMs launched from Clarinda will build the southern section of the SRL East tunnels.
At the train stabling facility in Heatherton, the eastern tunnel entrance has been built, with excavation of the western tunnel entrance now underway. SRL trains will come to the surface via these entrances when services begin operating in 2035.
Following contract award last year, the Linewide Alliance is now on-site undertaking major earthworks in preparation for building the train stabling facility.
Heatherton and Clarinda construction timeline
Upcoming works in Heatherton and Clarinda
Site investigations and earthworks
Day works: 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday
Day works: 7am to 1pm, Saturday
Train stabling facility, Heatherton
Continuing until late August:
- We're doing site investigations across our train stabling facility worksite. This will help inform the design and construction methodology to build the train stabling facility.
From May:
- We're working to prepare the train stabling facility site for construction
- This includes earthworks, such as excavation and moving soil to level the ground
- Works will be contained within the train stabling facility worksite
Tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch site preparation
Day and night works: 24 hours, Monday to Sunday
TBM lauch site, Clarinda
Continuing until late 2026:
- We're excavating the TBM launch site in Clarinda
- TBMs will be carefully lowered down into these shafts so that tunnelling can start
- Specialised machinery andgantry cranes will be used to lower sections of the TBMs to the bottom of the shaft, where they'll start their journey towards Glen Waverley and Heatherton
- We're building an acoustic shed to minimise dust, noise and light from tunnelling activities.
Tunnel entrances in Heatherton
Day and night works: up to 24 hours, Monday to Sunday
Western tunnel entrance, Heatherton
Continuing until late 2026:
- We're excavating the western tunnel entrance for TBMs to build the tunnels between Heatherton and Cheltenham
- We're also constructing a large acoustic shed to reduce noise and other impacts from our tunnelling equipment.
Day and night works: up to 24 hours, Monday to Sunday
Eastern tunnel entrance, Heatherton
Continuing until late 2026:
- We're preparing the eastern tunnel entrance for tunnelling
- This includes earthworks to create an intenal drainage system, and new access roads for critical tunnelling equipment to be transported around the site
- We're working on installing more fencing around the worksite to reduce noise, and light coming from the worksite.
Next steps: Building the train stabling facility at Heatherton
The contract to build the train stabling facility at Heatherton was awarded to the Linewide Alliance in December 2025.
The Linewide Alliance is a consortium of global leaders including John Holland, RATP Dev, Alstom, KBR and WSP; with extensive local and international experience on major transport projects including Melbourne's Metro Tunnel.
In addition to building the train stabling facility, the Linewide Alliance will
- Build SRL East's fleet of high-tech automated trains
- Operate and maintain the SRL East network for 15 years
- Fit out the tunnels including tracks, signalling and communications systems.
The Linewide Alliance began site investigations in February and works will continue to ramp up from mid 2026.
What is an acoustic shed and why are we building them?
Acoustic sheds are large, purpose-built structures designed to reduce noise, dust and light spill construction activities.
They are commonly used on major infrastructure projects, including the Metro Tunnel, where they proved effective in minimising, noise, dust and light impacts on nearby homes and businesses.
- Clarinda: An acoustic shed will be built over the tunnel boring machine launch site before tunnelling starts in 2026. This shed will be 110m long x 80m wide x 20m high which could hold around 70 Olympic swimming pools full of water
- Heatherton: An acoustic shed will be built at the western tunnel entrance. This shed will be 80m long x 35m wide x 15m high - that’s the footprint of the Rod Laver arena event floor.
On average, building an acoustic shed takes approximately 3 to 4 months. Both sheds are expected to be completed later this year.
These steel sheds will enclose noisy equipment and activities during 24-hour tunnelling operations, helping to reduce the impact of construction noise on nearby homes and businesses.
Heatherton and Clarinda progress update
Community Crew lends a helping hand
Community organisations, business owners and residents living and working near SRL East construction sites are receiving hands-on help from our ‘Community Crew.’
The Community Crew supports locals with window, house and car cleaning, gardening, deliveries, graffiti removal and more helping to reduce the impacts of construction during project delivery.
