Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) is a city and State-shaping project that will transform Victoria’s public transport system, connecting our suburbs and making travel easier and more convenient.

SRL East will connect our growing health, education, retail and employment precincts in Melbourne's east and south east between Cheltenham and Box Hill.

The new SRL East station at Clayton will become a transport super hub, connecting more people to Clayton’s vibrant town centre and providing faster and more convenient transport to destinations across Melbourne and the Gippsland region.

The transport super hub will connect into both SRL East and the existing Clayton Station, catering to more than 90,000 transfers a day by 2056 – making it one of Melbourne’s busiest metropolitan stations.

Before we start major construction on the tunnels and stations for SRL East, we are undertaking Initial and Early Works at each of the sites from Cheltenham to Box Hill, including Clayton.

What are Initial and Early Works?

Initial and Early Works involve activities such as utility relocations, site establishment, road modifications, site levelling and demolition works.

These works help prepare areas for major works while minimising the impact on the local community, businesses and road users during the Main Works.

As part of the works, we will be relocating Clayton Community Space, the sport equipment and open space under the elevated rail at Clayton. The new Clayton Community Space, including the recreational facilities, will be open to the public from mid 2025.

Initial and Early Works began in 2022 and are being delivered by Managing Contractor Laing O’Rourke.

SRL East Project Timeline

Initial and Early Works to be undertaken at Clayton

Planning approvals

Initial and Early Works have been assessed and approved via 2 separate planning pathways. Initial Works were assessed and approved by the Minister for Planning as part of the Clause 52.30 - State Projects planning provision.

Early Works were approved following the Minister’s assessment of the EES. These approvals include a planning scheme amendment, project area designation and cultural heritage management plans.

Managing impacts

As with any major infrastructure project, surrounding residents and businesses may experience some disruption during project works.

The project is committed to minimising and managing disruption for local residents, businesses and communities as much as possible. However, we do anticipate some potential impacts including:

• Changes to traffic conditions for drivers (including temporary speed reductions and lane closures), cyclists and pedestrians
• Some noise, vibration and dust from construction activities, machinery and vehicles
• Removal of vegetation and trees, where required
• Potential short-term impacts to driveway access and on-street car parking.

Before works start, we will notify and engage with residents and businesses about activities planned in their area, what to expect and how any disruptions will be managed.

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