Faster, more reliable travel is here – connecting communities and easing congestion.
New stations are set to open in early December as part of the Summer Start, exclusively servicing the Cranbourne, Pakenham, and Sunbury lines.
We’re kicking off the summer with hundreds of new weekly services! Metro Tunnel trains will run seven days a week and stop at all five new underground stations: Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall, and Anzac.
I was lucky enough to recently get a sneak peek at the new Anzac and State Library stations to ask the important questions about what this all means for those of us on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
Cranbourne and Pakenham line trains will run through the Metro Tunnel. They will no longer travel via the City Loop or stop at Flinders Street Station.
Town Hall and Flinders Street stations will be connected via the Degraves Street subway, while State Library and Melbourne Central stations will share a concourse. Signage will help passengers navigate between the stations, and you won’t need to tap off and on again when changing between Metro Tunnel and City Loop services.
Passengers can also change between Metro Tunnel, City Loop, or Flinders Street services at Caulfield, Malvern, and Footscray stations.
So, what is the Summer Start?
Monday to Friday – Services every 20 minutes from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm between Westall (Cranbourne and Pakenham lines) and West Footscray (Sunbury line). Weekends – Services every 20 minutes from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm between Westall and West Footscray, every 40 minutes from East Pakenham, and every 60 minutes from Sunbury.
That means more than 240 extra services each week, on top of existing services.
So, what’s happening in February?
They’re calling it The Big Switch!
On Sunday, February 1, Victoria’s entire train network will be overhauled. This is when the Metro Tunnel will be fully integrated into the wider transport network, and more than 1,000 new weekly train services will commence.
From that day, all services on the Sunbury, Cranbourne, and Pakenham lines will run exclusively through the new tunnel. These lines form the backbone of Melbourne’s train system – and this upgrade will be transformational.
