December 7th, 2025Metro Tunnel open

Thousands of passengers were among the first to travel on the Metro Tunnel in a historic day for Victoria.

Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams announced more than 70,000 passengers turned out to experience the five new stations last Sunday.

The Metro Tunnel is the biggest transformation of the city’s public transport system in 40 years, and it has doubled the size of Melbourne’s underground rail network.

More than 1,100 customer service staff were out in force helping passengers as 54 trains travelled 486 kilometres through the tunnel.

State Library saw more than 22,000 passengers through its doors – followed by Town Hall Station at more than 16,000, Anzac Station at around 13,000, Parkville Station at around 12,000 and Arden Station at more than 8,000 passengers.

The Summer Start timetable is officially in full swing – delivering 240 extra services every week along the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury corridors.

This will allow the new infrastructure and technology to be tested in real world conditions, so bugs can be ironed out without disrupting the rest of the train network before the Big Switch on 1 February fully integrates the Metro Tunnel into the network and delivers an additional 1,000 weekly services.

To celebrate, everyone can travel for free every weekend until Sunday, 1 February.

To plan your journey on the Metro Tunnel, visit transport.gov.au.