Melbourne Metro tunnel - hello, is anybody there?

[TP]

I've been bemused at the total lack of mention on this forum of this major development, the first in many years, in the growth of Melbourne's electrified networks. It's almost like all you Melbourne tram enthusiasts are willfully ignoring it!?

Here's a Sydneysider's view of the opening day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AFMYmCDvZw

It's been interesting hearing the commentary. The dopey Sydney Morning Herald did a cheap hit piece on it, comparing it poorly to Sydney's metro. The comments on that article were full of patient explanations that it was comparing apples and oranges, because they're two different systems with different purposes. 

I think it's great, but I'm not going to comment on whether it will achieve what it sets out to, because I don't know enough. Perhaps it will provide the same sort of relief to the city loop line as the Sydney Metro does to the City Circle line? In Sydney, the suburban system was getting to around 90% capacity and starting to fail and obviously wouldn't meet the population growth. I don't know if the capacity situation is the same in Melbourne?

Performance. I can see (or think I can see) in such timetables as I was able to extract from the troublesome PTV trip planner that they can apparently achieve 2 minute headways with the new signalling and the time between Arden and Anzac takes 11 minutes. With somebody in Melbourne I worked out that the distance between these two stations is about 6 km and I would love it if somebody could confirm that more exactly. 

The distance between Central and Victoria Cross in Sydney is 6.3 km, with the same number of intermediate stations (3) and the Sydney metro takes only 9 minutes, so presumably the performance and dwells of the HCMTs are not of the same order. Nevertheless, the HCMT seems to be a very nice train and I wish we could have them in Sydney instead of the double deckers.

Personal opinion, but I have to say I think the architecture is dreadful. It's very cluttered and devoid of the soaring, clear spaces of the Sydney Metro. It's verges on edgy '70s industrial chic, with lots of cluttered metalwork suspended everywhere and bits of gear hanging off bare and low concrete ceilings. Did all of Melbourne's great architects migrate to Sydney?

I'm a bit mystified by the tentative part-time start of the service. When is the line going into full service?

Congratulations to all you Melbournians anyway.

Tony P

[Hal Cain]

On Mon, Dec 1, 2025 at 12:12 AM 'TP' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdo...@googlegroups.com> wrote (in part(:

I'm a bit mystified by the tentative part-time start of the service. When is the line going into full service?

Full service is to start on 1 February; the timetable hasn't yet been released.

Hal Cain, in Tasmania, expecting to see it all after Christmas 

Virus-free.www.avast.com

[Mark Skinner]

One of the reasons may be that it's not yet clear what effect it will have on the tram system. 

That could well be quite large. However,  nobody really knows. So, I'd suggest that the silence is really people holding their breath waiting to know exactly what is going to happen. 

For tram enthusiasts,  it's a process that isn't finished yet.

Mark Skinner

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[Geoffrey Hansen]

I was surprised at the lack of a mention to. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tramsdownunder/CAPUC4X9SzVjgKCA%3DYdOny1gnff%2BRCy2ZH1bG_SDYfbh%3Dx2Z3VQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[TP]

I bet the City Loop didn't affect the trams that much. Bradfield's City Circle in Sydney didn't really have much effect on the preference to move around the CBD on the surface, by tram and bus. I think that''s because it runs for the most part around the periphery of the CBD and the trains are relatively infrequent. The main function of the City Circle over the years has been to enable those who come and go on trains to and from further afield to have a wider choice of where to get on and off in the CBD. Sydney metro, on the other hand, goes right along the spine of the CBD and the surprising ease of getting to any of the points on the City Circle from the metro (including Circular Quay where the station patronage has fallen as a result) contributes to the popularity of the metro. Perhaps the same will happen in Melbourne. However, it is encouraging to note that the popularity of the CSELR tram through the CBD hasn't suffered either. It's only the City Circle that's losing patronage. 

Tony P

[Andrew Cook]

. . . and more telling is today's Murdoch Melbourne rag—nothing about the Metro tunnel opening on page 1, nor page 2 and a large photo of bikini clad females on page 3. 

---

From: 'TP' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdo...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 1 December 2025 12:12 AM
To: TramsDownUnder <tramsdo...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Melbourne Metro tunnel - hello, is anybody there?

 

[TP]

I found two articles in the digital edition of the HS yesterday and today. Copied in next posts.

Tony P

[TP]

Grace Frost: The roar, the applause and the moment Melbourne's Metro Tunnel made history on the first trip from Sunbury

I was elated to get the call to cover the opening of the Metro Tunnel, knowing it would be a moment for the history books — but nothing could have prepared me for the crowds on that first ride from Sunbury, writes Grace Frost.

Grace Frost

less than 2 min read

November 30, 2025 - 5:23PM

213 Comments

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History made with first passenger train through Metro Tunnel

History made with first passenger train through Metro Tunnel

Melbourne’s Metro...

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Victoria

Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.

Sunday’s Metro Tunnel opening was a moment for the history books.

As a proud transport nerd, I have thrown myself into Metro Tunnel coverage since I started with the Herald Sun.

I’ve covered stuff ups and milestones, toured the stations before they were opened, talked my colleagues’ ears off about the new technology and – like many other Melburnians – dodged the plethora of works on my daily commute into the city.

Despite all that, nothing could have prepared me for today.

Bright and early at Sunbury station, I met with a tiny crowd of eager fans at the front of the line, parked with their camp chairs as the countdown to the inaugural Melbourne Central commenced. They’d waited years for this.

A crowd of eager transport enthusiasts flood into Sunbury Station to snag a seat on the first service through the Metro Tunnel. Picture: Grace Frost

Fraser Craig Hill are the first in line at Sunbury Station to board the inaugural Metro Tunnel service from Sunbury Station. Picture: Grace Frost

As the hours rolled by, hundreds more transport enthusiasts, families and commuters piled into the station. The crowd was electric. The nervous excitement was palpable.

Crowds beamed when Jacinta Allan came to say hello before boarding the train – but even meeting the Premier couldn’t trump the moment ahead.

Premier Jacinta Allan and transport minister Gabrielle Williams take a selfie on board the first train in the new Metro Tunnel from Sunbury. Picture: Josie Hayden

When that new high-capacity train pulled up to the platform, the crowd began to whoop and cheer.

When it pulled away and shot toward the city, they roared.

And when it made its detour from its usual route and instead entered the Metro Tunnel, hundreds of passengers in every carriage broke into an applause I will never forget.

The crowd roar on board the first service. Picture: Josie Hayden

Commuters cram into the first Metro Tunnel services. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

I jumped off at Town Hall station – and despite every job on my list, I had to take a second in the middle of it all to just watch.

Absolute astonishment plastered across faces. Phones pointed in every direction trying to capture the sheer scale of this underground masterpiece. Children, parents, friends – even dogs – filling the space we’d been only able to dream about since I was 12-years-old.

The atmosphere was calm and quiet inside the new Town Hall Station as commuters took in the new build. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

Families venture through the concourse at Town Hall Station. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

The brand new Town Hall Station opened on Sunday alongside another four Metro Tunnel stations. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

Crowds packed onto the 220m platform as they waited 20 minutes between each service. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

A cheering crowd welcome Jacinta Allan and Gabrielle Williams to Anzac Station. Picture: Josie Hayden

It’s easy to brush off politicians when they boast this project will change Melbourne.

But for the thousands to use the Metro Tunnel on opening day, we just witnessed the beginning of a new era for public transport in Victoria.

One that hopefully sparks transformation across the network for generations to come.

[TP]

Allan govt celebrates “successful” Metro Tunnel opening as FRV investigates trespassing incident

More than 70,000 passengers boarded Metro Tunnel services on its opening day — and one station in particular had more visitors than any other.

Aris Schuler-Shah

2 min read

December 1, 2025 - 12:44PM

5 Comments

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History made with first passenger train through Metro Tunnel

History made with first passenger train through Metro Tunnel

Melbourne’s Metro...

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Victoria

Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.

More than 70,000 passengers boarded Metro Tunnel services on its opening day, with one station attracting over 22,000 passengers.

In what has been described as a “very successful day one”, almost 75,000 people jumped on the brand new underground train line on Sunday, with transport enthusiasts piling on to mark the historic moment.

Out of the five new stations, State Library was the most popular, with more than 22,000 passengers, followed by Town Hall, 16,000, Anzac Station, 13,000, Parkville 12,000 and Arden Station, 8,000.

State Library Station was the most popular station on opening day. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The inaugural day was not without its “glitches”, with Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) investigating a trespassing incident that caused a major delay.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on Monday slammed the “deadly and dangerous behaviour” of at least one trespasser who caused a 25 minute delay.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that anyone who trespassed into a live operating environment is undertaking a potentially deadly set of actions,” she said.

“I want to thank the operation staff for dealing with this quickly.”

It is still unknown whether the trespasser was a member of the public, a Metro Tunnel worker or a firefighter.

It comes after United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall warned that firefighters did not have the equipment, knowledge or training to protect members of the public in the new Metro Tunnel.

Commuters disembark at Anzac Station on Sunday. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

Firefighters elected safety representatives at eight stations had issued safety notices to Fire Rescue Victoria saying they could be “at increased risk of injury or death during fire or incident in the tunnel”.

Ms Allan has rubbished the claims saying they’re incorrect and that proper safety measures are in place.

Metro Trains Chief Executive Raymond O’Flaherty said a few expected “glitches” caused delays following the trespassing incident.

“We fully expect to see these glitches along the way as we build our confidence and get ready for the first of February” Mr O’Flaherty said.

Commuters use the escalators at Town Hall Station. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

He said the reason the train doors did not line up properly at one of the stations was due to the trespassing incident.

“Because we have to go under caution and make sure that all trespassers are out of the tunnel we actually switch from automatic mode and into manual mode and during that 25 minute period one of our services didn’t birth correctly at the station,” he said.

Metro Trains will run 240 weekly services on the new line, before the “big switch” skyrockets that number to 1000 weekly services on February 1.

From February, the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines will run exclusively on the Metro Tunnel, not the City Loop.

[TP]

Sorry about the messy cut and paste. The HS coverage is very positive, as was the Age I understand from glimpses of their coverage. In Sydney, the Telegraph was very supportive of Sydney Metro; the Herald whinged and whined its way through the whole project, until they discovered how enormously popular it is, then they turned to support it. Now they're so proud of the Sydney project that they just had to take a cheap shot at stirring up Sydney-Melbourne (non-existent) "rivalry". I think they must employ work experience students as journalists.

Tony P

[Andrew Highriser]

The opening of Melbourne's City Loop certainly affected trams. People would pour out of Flinders Station and Princes Bridge Station onto Swanston Street trams. Conductors couldn't cope with collecting so many fares so assistant conductors boarded trams to help. Once Museum Station, now Melbourne Central opened, all that changed. Back then there were many more trams in Swanston Street. 

While less busy, assistant conductors sold tickets at the then Bourke Street terminus as people left the City Loop trains at Spencer Street Station, now Southern Cross. They would stand at the centre door with their foot resting on the step to keep the doors open. Front door loading only to pay the conductor seated at a console who could not take fares quickly enough would delay trams.

I can't remember the years, but around when Flagstaff Station opened, the William Street trams from  the south eastern suburbs ceased. The William Street trams would normally carry a seated load but along with other system improvements, they were deemed unessarcacy. 

To conclude, the opening of Melbourne's City Loop made huge differences to tram travel within the city. The new Metro Tunnel will do the same.  

  

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tramsdownunder/647beb0b-67b2-4fc7-bd17-b29a39a2f13en%40googlegroups.com.

[Robert Smith]

I doubt there will be as much of a alteration to passenger numbers on the St Kilda Road corridor as the government first envisage with their cancellation of the major tram works to enable ramps to go from St Kilda Road to the west side of the city directly.

[Matthew Geier]

I also suspect that Melbourne tram enthusiasts, having such a large tram
network to drool over, don't drift of into other types of electric
traction as frequently as us enthusiasts in more tram starved places
tend to do.

[Hal Cain]

That may be so.  Besides, it's taken years to happen, and timelines have dragged out, and the political grandstanding about the "great big build" programme has been so repetitious that a lot of us have stopped noticing.

Hal Cain, in Tasmania

Virus-free.www.avast.com

[pn1]

Fascinating question about “the hobby”.

My experience suggests there’s quite an overlap between Victorian bus and train enthusiasts but not so much the other ways

Truly multi model enthusiasts are relatively rare in the older age group. 

There’s always been a fairly strong overlap between train and tram enthusiasts in the older he group. But relatively few extended to buses. Anecdotal evidence suggests this was often because buses were dismissed as unwelcome replacements for trams and later regional and rural rail services. 

However, there’s always been a small and vibrant bus enthusiast community. 

I’ve always felt that the hobby is invariably as or more interesting than the topic!

Regards 

Paul (currently travelling in Italy)

On 2 Dec 2025, at 08:20, Hal Cain <heg...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Geoffrey Hansen]

Paul what tram, rail and/or bus systems have you been on during your trip in Italy? 

Regards Geoffrey 

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[pn1]

Milan, Venice and Florence with Turin upcoming. Plus Milanand La Spezia trolleybuses. Also vaporettos in Venice. 

Milan is a must! It’s always wonderful catch up with Peter Wittt!

My partner have wandered off topic somewhat to also visit the five Cinque Terre towns. 

Turin is the last stop in this adventure. There’s big tram parade on Sunday. It’s part of an international tram conference where I am honoured to be one of many guest speakers. 

Regards 

Paul (currently travelling in Italy)

p...@bigpond.com

On 2 Dec 2025, at 10:01, Geoffrey Hansen <gnhan...@gmail.com> wrote:



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