SRL will transform how we travel around Melbourne and Victoria – and recalibrate how we grow in the decades ahead.
Victoria is expected to grow to around 11 million people by the 2050s, while Greater Melbourne will reach around 9 million people – a similar size to London today. SRL is an opportunity to get ahead of the curve.
The turn-up-and-go train service with fast and easy transport connections to important destinations will take more than 600,000 cars off our roads every day. Above ground, it’ll provide more affordable and quality housing where it’s needed most – through thoughtful planning for more local open spaces, cycling and walking paths, playgrounds and amenities.
SRL will slowly help reshape Melbourne from a city centred around a single CBD, to a ‘city of centres’. This will help curb our urban sprawl and will mean better access to jobs and opportunities for all Victorians.
With $14 billion provided by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, the first major tunnelling contract has been awarded for SRL East and the second will be finalised by the end of the year. Tunnel boring machines will be in the ground by 2026 and trains taking passengers by 2035.