4 October 2022
Connecting suburbs. Creating jobs.
Suburban Rail Loop will shape our city and state for future generations, ensuring Melbourne remains one of the world’s most liveable cities.
The 90km Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) will link every major rail line from the Frankston line to the Werribee line, via Melbourne Airport, improving access to housing, jobs, schools, universities and hospitals for all Victorians.
SRL East between Cheltenham and Box Hill will deliver huge benefits to those in Melbourne's east, south east and regional Victoria, with faster and more reliable public transport and greater access to jobs, health and education.
SRL East includes new underground stations at Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill, and will be built as a standalone 26km rail line integrated with the existing public transport network.
SRL East will slash travel times, create new jobs and housing closer to home, deliver more direct journeys for regional Victorians and enhance walking, cycling and green spaces.
SRL will be delivered in stages and construction on SRL East began in June 2022. SRL East trains will be running by 2035, taking around 70,000 passengers per day.
SRL East at Cheltenham
The SRL East station at Cheltenham will make it easier for people to access retail, entertainment and employment areas nearby, as well as travelling to Melbourne’s other middle suburbs.
The new underground SRL East station at Cheltenham is projected to service 8,000 passengers daily when trains are running in 2035, with about 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.
Benefits for Cheltenham
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.
Changing between Cheltenham and Southland Station, as well as buses at Cheltenham will all be done without having to cross traffic – making it safe, easy and quick.
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 station will also include buildings to accommodate bicycle facilities and potential retail tenancies, operational equipment and rail systems, and essential emergency and safety infrastructure.
Fast Facts
- From Cheltenham to Box Hill in 22 minutes
- Turn up and go services every 6 minutes
- Transporting around 8,000 passengers from Cheltenham daily
- More than 600,000 car trips off roads and freeways every day
Station construction
Construction of the SRL station at Cheltenham will be completed in stages and is expected to take approximately 6 years.
Disruption at surface level is expected to be shorter than the overall construction time.
Construction stages and activities include:
- Early Works involving demolition of existing structures, earthworks to prepare the site for construction including underground service utility relocations
- Main Works, including excavation of the station box to create an open trench and using ‘bottom-up’ construction to build the underground station
- Construction of the pedestrian and cycling overpass on Bay Road. The overpass structure 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.
Green light for SRL East
The environmental effects for SRL East have been assessed through Victoria’s most comprehensive and transparent planning approvals process – an Environment Effects Statement (EES). The project received planning approvals in September 2022.
SRL East’s EES received more than 360 submissions and saw an independent panel hear from 47 witnesses over 39 days of public hearings and it has resulted in enhanced measures and outcomes that will benefit the community during construction and operation.
The EES was Victoria’s first fully digital EES and will remain online for the life of the project as a reference document.
Planning approval for SRL East
Following extensive planning and design work, SRL East received planning approvals in September 2022.
The assessment of the SRL East Environment Effects Statement recognised that the project will bring enormous benefits to Melbourne and has resulted in enhanced measures and outcomes that will benefit the community during construction and operation.
At Cheltenham, these changes include:
- Delivering replacement open space as close as possible to the areas required to build the new SRL East station at Cheltenham in Sir William Fry Reserve
- Relocating the skate park and basketball half court in Sir William Fry Reserve prior to the removal of the existing facilities
- Widening the northern entry to the pedestrian and cycle bridge over Bay Road
- Further planning and refinement for the connection between the SRL station at Cheltenham and the existing Southland Station
- Further assessing the transport network arrangements around the new SRL East station, including optimising the quantity and location of pick-up and drop-off parking areas and bus interchange.
What’s next for SRL East?
Construction of SRL East kicked off in June 2022, with Initial Works underway to prepare sites for major construction by 2024.
Initial Works are planned at Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood, Box Hill and at the site of the stabling facility in Heatherton.
Activities are similar to routine infrastructure maintenance and renewal works that happen in our suburbs every day, and involve:
- Relocating and protecting utilities such as gas, electrical, water, sewer and telecommunications services
- Minor road modifications
- Site levelling and ground improvement works
- Establishing the construction sites.
To support construction, there will be temporary facilities set up along the alignment. These will include site offices and worker amenities, car parking, gates, entries and exits, fencing, equipment storage, and environmental, traffic and safety controls.
- 2020 – $2.2b provided for Initial & Early Works
- 2021 – EES exhibited late 2021
$9.3b provided for SRL East Main Works, I&EW contract signed - 2022 – Initial and Early Works commenced
- 2024 – Main Works start for SRL East
- Mid 2020s – Precinct development to commence, with a focus on SRL East
- 2035 – Trains running by 2035 on SRL East
*Ongoing community and stakeholder engagement
More than a rail line
Beyond the rail line, SRL includes strategic land planning and development initiatives in SRL Precincts that will attract and support clusters of new businesses and deliver better local services and additional housing.
SRL will open up exciting prospects for new and enhanced recreation spaces and community facilities, as well as improved walking and cycling links, making Cheltenham an even more attractive and vibrant place to live, work and visit.
Get involved
Since mid-2019, we've been speaking with community members online and face to face to understand what locals love most about their areas and how SRL East can help further enhance neighbourhoods.
Feedback from the people who know SRL East precincts best is very important throughout all stages of planning and development.
There will be many opportunities for you to get involved and contribute your ideas on how we can make areas around SRL East stations even better places to live, study, work and visit.
Subscribe to our newsletters and receive regular project updates