After eight years of construction, Melbourne’s 9-kilometre Metro Tunnel carried its first paying passengers on 30 November, the biggest expansion of the city’s rail network since the 1981 City Loop. Five cavernous underground stations—Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac—are now linked by limited-stop services every 20 minutes between West Footscray and Westall.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan hailed the opening as “absolutely bloody amazing”, boarding the inaugural Sunbury-bound train alongside hundreds of rail enthusiasts who queued before dawn. The state government has made all public transport free on weekends until 1 February 2026, when a full timetable will add 1,000 weekly services and reroute the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines exclusively through the tunnel.
![Melbourne’s $15 billion Metro Tunnel opens for preview services, offering free weekend travel]()
The project introduces platform-screen doors and communications-based train control—firsts for Melbourne—and is expected to cut CBD-to-hospital-precinct travel times by up to 10 minutes. Businesses near the new Parkville and Arden stations anticipate a surge in foot traffic and easier commutes for staff and clients.
For mobility managers, the tunnel promises more reliable rail links to north-west suburbs and, eventually, to the planned Melbourne Airport Rail when it opens in 2029. Employers with large CBD workforces may wish to update commuting guides and consider subsidising Myki cards to leverage the free-travel window.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan hailed the opening as “absolutely bloody amazing”, boarding the inaugural Sunbury-bound train alongside hundreds of rail enthusiasts who queued before dawn. The state government has made all public transport free on weekends until 1 February 2026, when a full timetable will add 1,000 weekly services and reroute the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines exclusively through the tunnel.
The project introduces platform-screen doors and communications-based train control—firsts for Melbourne—and is expected to cut CBD-to-hospital-precinct travel times by up to 10 minutes. Businesses near the new Parkville and Arden stations anticipate a surge in foot traffic and easier commutes for staff and clients.
For mobility managers, the tunnel promises more reliable rail links to north-west suburbs and, eventually, to the planned Melbourne Airport Rail when it opens in 2029. Employers with large CBD workforces may wish to update commuting guides and consider subsidising Myki cards to leverage the free-travel window.
