The $2.2 billion provided in the 2020-21 Victorian Budget for the first phase of Stage 1 construction will take the Suburban Rail Loop from the concept and planning stage to on-the-ground delivery.
The budget boost will pave the way for the biggest rail project ever built in Victoria.
The initial and early works will start in 2022, creating up to 800 jobs and enabling launch sites to be set up for tunnel boring machines.
What’s happening in Stage 1?
The package of works involves a range of activities across the Stage 1 project area, including:
- land purchase
- upgrading roads and power supply
- building new substations
- utility relocations
- protection and ground improvements.
In the meantime, site investigations and other pre-construction works will continue to ramp up over the coming months.
Proposed new stations
The preferred locations of 6 new underground stations and the refined 26km rail corridor between Cheltenham and Box Hill have been released. The proposed stations are located:
- near Southland Shopping Centre, underneath Sir William Fry Reserve
- adjacent to Monash and Deakin universities
- central to the Box Hill and Glen Waverley activity centres
- north of Carinish Road, Clayton, which will link regional passengers to the line.
The proposed station sites and refined underground rail corridor between Cheltenham and Box Hill were determined after 18 months of intensive project development and design. Almost 300 geotechnical investigations and engineering assessments, more than 500 land, ecology and heritage surveys, and consultations with local stakeholders have taken place.
Visit the Suburban Rail Loop website for more information.
