The new underground station at Cheltenham will be the southern gateway to the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) network, providing faster and more convenient public transport to key destinations across Melbourne’s middle suburbs.
It will improve access to nearby employment areas and connect more people to one of Melbourne’s major retail and entertainment hubs, Southland Shopping Centre. Providing a link to the existing Southland Station, it will also give Frankston line passengers a convenient connection to Monash, Deakin and La Trobe universities.
Frequent services every few minutes will mean passengers can turn up and go when the new rail line is operating by 2035. It’ll take just 3-4 minutes between stations – a journey from Cheltenham to a health appointment in Clayton will take less than 10 minutes.
We’re moving underground services and utilities to make way for major construction.
Crews have established a site at the Sir William Fry Reserve southern car park in Highett, with the car park to remain closed for up to 18 months. Workers are also conducting site investigations to prepare for construction of the new underground station and twin tunnels.
After the most recent rounds of extensive consultation, the final vision for Cheltenham will be publicly available later this year. This will outline the ideas and opportunities for the area around the new station, informed by feedback from the community, local councils and stakeholders. The draft Structure Plans will go on public exhibition in later 2024 or early 2025, before public hearings by an independent panel in 2025.
It is anticipated Structure Plans and planning scheme amendments for these areas will be finalised in 2026.
