Cheltenham

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.

For more information, read the SRL East station at Cheltenham fact sheet.

What's happening now

Early construction on SRL East started in June 2022 and is powering ahead.

Planning for the broader area around the new station at Cheltenham is also underway, in consultation with the local council and community.

From 3 December 2023 to 3 March 2024, we sought community feedback on the draft precinct visions for the areas around each new SRL East station.

Read the draft precinct vision for Cheltenham

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback via the online survey. A report summarising what we heard and how it is being considered will be released in the coming weeks.

What's next?

We are continuing to refine the precinct plans to ensure the SRL East precincts are thriving centres with quality housing options, services and job opportunities close to home.

SRL will be back out in the community shortly to get your feedback on the next steps being taken to realise the vision for Cheltenham.

Read more about planning the future of Cheltenham.

Map: SRL Cheltenham Station beside Sir William Fry Reserve

Artist impression of SRL station at Cheltenham

FAQs

The areas around the SRL stations will help people live locally – with open and green space, playgrounds, schools, jobs, universities, TAFEs, and health services all closer to home.

Planning for the 6 SRL East neighbourhoods is now underway. There will be many opportunities over the next few years to have your say on the future of Cheltenham both online and in person.

You can stay up to date with planning activities, provide feedback or register your interest in attending particular events by visiting our Have Your Say page.

Read more about SRL East structure planning.

The new station at Cheltenham will be located under part of Sir William Fry Reserve. The underground station will have 2 levels and be fully accessible for all passengers via lifts and escalators.

The station will open towards Bay Road, providing a connection for pedestrians to both Southland Shopping Centre and Southland Station. A new bus interchange outside the station will provide passengers with a more convenient connection to bus services. An overpass for pedestrians and cyclists over Bay Road will connect SRL to the existing Southland Station and shopping centre.

The station will include buildings for ticketing and customer facilities, potential retail spaces, extensive undercover bike parking, as well as places for operational equipment and emergency and safety infrastructure.

The new station platform will sit around 17m below ground level and be fully accessible by lifts and escalators.

The SRL station will connect to the existing Southland Station with a new pedestrian and cyclist overpass at Bay Road. There will also be new pedestrian and cyclist paths in and around the precinct, connecting the new SRL station to Southland Shopping Centre, Sir William Fry Reserve and the existing station.

About 8000 passengers are projected to use the SRL station at Cheltenham daily when trains start running in 2035, with about 2700 people interchanging with Frankston Line services.