Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel project continues to progress toward its anticipated opening later this year, with officials announcing the completion of major training and testing milestones that bring the transformative infrastructure closer to operation.
The Metro Tunnel will establish a new cross-city rail connection linking Sunbury in Melbourne’s west to Cranbourne and Pakenham in the southeast. The project features five new underground stations and will utilize larger, modern rolling stock to increase capacity across the metropolitan network.
Project officials confirmed that all required train operators for the tunnel’s initial operations have completed their certification. The workforce includes approximately 100 newly recruited drivers who underwent an intensive 44-week training curriculum, supplemented by existing personnel who received additional specialized instruction.
The comprehensive training program combined classroom instruction, hands-on practice, and supervised operational experience. Drivers are now qualified to operate the High Capacity Metro Trains that will service the tunnel, as well as the project’s advanced signaling systems and Victoria’s first platform screen door technology.
Authorities indicated that the driver training program will eventually expand to certify approximately 1,000 operators across the broader metropolitan rail network for Metro Tunnel operations.
The project achieved a significant testing milestone last month with the completion of its most comprehensive service trials to date. Over two consecutive days on August 16-17, trains operated continuously between Sunbury, Cranbourne, and Pakenham East stations, completing 602 individual trips and covering 7,886 kilometers.
Total testing distance within the tunnel system has now reached 265,000 kilometers, equivalent to circling the Earth approximately 6.6 times. These trials are designed to validate new infrastructure systems and operational procedures ahead of passenger service.
Concurrent with operational testing, project teams conducted four large-scale emergency evacuation exercises involving hundreds of participants, including volunteers, emergency services personnel, and station staff. The drills tested comprehensive safety protocols and emergency response procedures.
The exercises included complex scenarios such as full train evacuations within tunnel sections and simulated passenger injuries using professional makeup effects. These trials are part of the project’s comprehensive preparation for all potential operational scenarios when passenger service begins.
Officials emphasized that the extensive testing and training programs are designed to ensure complete operational readiness and passenger safety when the Metro Tunnel opens to the public later this year.
