Buses are temporarily replacing trains on the Hurstbridge Line until 28 May, as critical works are carried out to extend and upgrade the rail tunnel and widen the Grimshaw Street bridge, creating space for the new road that will connect the completed M80 Ring Road to the North East Link tunnels.
The tunnel extension is also driving maintenance work on nearly 5km of track between Macleod and Greensborough stations.
These upgrades will ensure smoother, quieter, and safer train journeys for passengers in the future.
Key improvements include the installation of slab tracks, which require less maintenance and last longer than traditional tracks, as well as Delkor plates to reduce noise and vibration.
Additionally, the rail network will benefit from state-of-the-art RIS technology, the first of its kind in Australia, enabling Metro Trains to respond quickly to incidents once the extended tunnel is operational.
By the end of works, crews will have:
- removed over 2000 sleepers
- updated 700 metres of dual track, equating to 2.8km of rail strings
- installed 1623 cubic metres of concrete (231 truckloads) made from Envirocrete, a lower carbon concrete product
- Installed 1500 tonnes of new ballast
- installed 3040 Delkor plates
- and lifted into place 121 precast panels to create the walls of the extended rail tunnel, panels ranging from 3.6 metres to 7.6 metres high.
We've been making great progress and are on track to complete our works on Thursday 27 March. Train services will resume from the first service on Friday 28 March.
For more details on the works and how they may affect your travel, visit our Hurstbridge Line page.
We’ll be back later this year to continue extending the rail tunnel, including installing the tunnel ‘roof’, and widen the Grimshaw Street bridge.