17 September 2025
More transport, more homes, more jobs
Our city and state are growing. Melbourne will be a city of 9 million people by the 2050s – the size of London today.
We need more transport and more homes in the right places – and Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) will deliver both.
As a transport, housing and urban planning project, SRL will slash travel times, ease congestion, and connect our suburbs, ensuring our city grows in the right places. It will support the delivery of more homes and housing choice where people want to live – on the doorstep of world-class public transport, services, jobs, schools, parks and cafes.
Linking every major train service from the Frankston Line to the Werribee Line via Melbourne Airport, SRL will transform our public transport network - better connecting Victorians to employment, hospitals, universities and each other.
Construction of SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill is powering ahead, creating up to 8,000 direct local jobs. Tunnel boring machines to build the SRL East tunnels will arrive in late 2025 and launch in 2026. Major construction is underway, and SRL trains will be taking passengers in 2035.
SRL East at Cheltenham
The SRL East station at Cheltenham will be the southern gateway to the SRL network and make it easier for people to access education, retail, entertainment, recreation and employment areas nearby.
The new underground SRL East station at Cheltenham will service around 8,000 passengers daily when trains are running in 2035, with around 2,700 people interchanging with Frankston line services.
The station will provide a convenient connection to the existing Southland Station on the Frankston line and will integrate with bus services – connecting more people to jobs, retail stores, health services and study opportunities.
Station construction
Construction of the SRL East station at Cheltenham will be completed in stages.
Part of Sir William Fry Reserve will be required to build the new station. The project will replace public open space nearby before major construction starts.
Construction stages and activities include:
- Early works to move underground services
- Main works, including demolition of existing structures, earthworks to prepare the site for construction, and excavation of the station box to create an open trench, construction to build the underground station
- Excavated soil from tunnelling underneath Cheltenham brought to the surface in Heatherton
- Construction of the pedestrian and cycling overpass on Bay Road. The overpass will be assembled offsite and installed using a crane
- Station completion including any road and path upgrades, incorporation of public open space and planting and landscaping.
A new station at Cheltenham
The new underground station at Cheltenham will be located under part of Sir William Fry Reserve. The underground station will have 2 levels and be fully accessible for all passengers via lifts and escalators.
The new station platform will sit around 17m below ground, with a single station entrance facing Bay Road. New and improved public open space, walking and cycling paths and bridges, and signalised road crossings of Bay Road and Nepean Highway will make it easier and safer to move around the area.
Connections between the new SRL East station at Cheltenham and the existing Southland Station and bus interchange will all be done without having to cross traffic – making it safe and efficient.
A new bus interchange off Bay Road will make it more convenient to access bus services, with accessible pick-up and drop-off areas, taxi bays and undercover bicycle parking located nearby.
The SRL East station will also include buildings to accommodate bicycle facilities and potential retail tenancies, operational equipment and rail systems, and essential emergency and safety infrastructure.
Planning around the new SRL East station at Cheltenham
We’re planning to ensure the area around the new SRL East station at Cheltenham benefits from an improved range of infrastructure and services, providing better connections to jobs, open space and community facilities.
We’ve been speaking to local communities for several years about how SRL can help meet the challenges of population growth and housing supply. We have written to the community, spoken with thousands of people at pop-up events, information sessions, webinars, and by phone and email. We’ve received over 10,000 community responses and submissions, which helped shape the structure planning process.
A structure plan guides the development of an area over time – helping to achieve sustainable growth and positive social, economic and environmental outcomes. Together with the broader planning framework, structure planning for SRL East precincts is an important part of the Victorian Government’s strategy to address housing affordability and supply with access to jobs, services and opportunities near good public transport.