Rock samples, seedlings, colouring sheets and a high-tech excavator were on show and tell for children at Monash Community Family Co-operative (MCFC) with a visit from Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project engineers this month.
Local children had a first-hand look at the techniques and equipment being used to build this city-shaping project.
Workers explained how they are using low-impact diggers to help figure out what kinds of services are underground in the area around MCFC. They talked the children through how they are using high pressure water to gently expose the pipes and cables and then a special vacuum that sucks up the mud.
Children were also given seedlings so they could try growing them at home – getting ahead of SRL’s massive tree planting program that will see more than 4000 seedlings and trees planted as part of SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill.
SRL East will deliver huge benefits for Monash, bringing a long-awaited rail connection to the area for the first time – with the new underground station open and trains running by 2035.
The new station will deliver better connections to Australia’s biggest university, making it easier for the children at MCFC to one day get to uni or TAFE, and ensure faster and more convenient transport access to key destinations across Melbourne’s suburbs.
Monash is Melbourne's second biggest employment centre and will boom with an additional 19,000 jobs within a short walk from the new SRL station. By 2036, people from Monash will be able to access an additional 100,000 jobs within an hour’s journey on public transport.
Construction of SRL East is now underway, creating up to 8000 direct jobs, with 6 underground stations at Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill linked by 26km twin tunnels.
