Metro Tunnel trials trains across the city

Saturday, June 21 marked a huge milestone for the Metro Tunnel Project, with trains running the full length of the line for the first time – from Sunbury, through the new Metro Tunnel to East Pakenham and Cranbourne.

Throughout the day, new high-capacity Metro trains travelled the 100-kilometre journey, allowing crews to check travel times end-to-end, and ensure smooth stops at each station for passengers getting on and off trains.

This meant passengers needed to change trains at Caulfield and Footscray to complete their journeys, while trains ran empty through the new tunnel, with thousands of people needing to move quickly between trains.

Metro Trains staff were stationed out on the network to help passengers with the transition, as crews completed 265 train trips along the new sections of line, covering more than 3400 kilometres.

The trial involved all the new tunnel’s systems and technologies, including platform screen doors, passenger information displays and high-tech signalling.

The day was just one part of the project’s massive testing and trial operations program, with every aspect of the new tunnel and stations being put through its paces repeatedly over many months to ensure everything is ready for passenger services.

Shannon Rollinson, the Metro Tunnel’s director of network coordination and operational readiness, passed on her thanks to passengers on the day.

“We’d like to thank everyone on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines for their patience, as we completed the biggest trial yet of Metro Tunnel services. We work closely with other transport authorities and spend months planning to ensure days like this run smoothly,” she said.

The testing was successful and marked an important step in identifying and resolving any issues as the team prepares to open the Metro Tunnel to passengers later this year.

The Metro Tunnel is the biggest transformation of Melbourne’s rail network since the City Loop opened more than 40 years ago, and includes five new state-of-the-art stations at Arden (North Melbourne), Parkville, State Library, Town Hall (both in the CBD) and Anzac (on St Kilda Rd). •