The Metro Tunnel Project’s summer works program at South Yarra will finish four days ahead of schedule with trains returning to the Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston and Gippsland lines on Monday 27 January.
Crews have worked around the clock throughout the quieter holiday period to ensure that major construction finished early, in time for the start of the new school year.
During January the final sections of concrete poured for the tunnel’s roof slab, along with the installation of 1.8 kilometres of new track which will connect the existing Cranbourne and Pakenham lines to the Metro Tunnel.
Support structures were also installed for the Metro Tunnel’s eastern entrance as well as rail systems upgrade works between Caulfield and South Yarra to support future high capacity signalling and trains.
Major construction of the Metro Tunnel will continue in 2020 with significant progress being made at each of the new station locations and tunnelling underway in the west.
Testing of the Metro Tunnel’s new high capacity signalling system will also begin this year on the Mernda Line. This new technology will allow more trains, more often to run on the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines when the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025.
