How long is the Melbourne Metro Tunnel going to be?
Metro Tunnel
The Metro Tunnel (sometimes also known as the Melbourne Metro Rail Project or the Metro Rail Capacity Project) is a metropolitan rail infrastructure project currently under construction[1] in Melbourne, Australia. It includes the construction of twin 9-kilometre rail tunnels between South Kensington station (north west of the Melbourne City Centre) and South Yarra (in the south east) with five new underground stations. The southern portal for the tunnel is to be located to the south of South Yarra station. As a result, the tunnel will connect the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines with the Sunbury line, and allow these lines to bypass Flinders Street station and the City Loop while still stopping in the Melbourne central business district.
West Gate Tunnel
The EES indicated that the West Gate Tunnel would introduce thousands of more cars per day to residential streets in West Melbourne and North Melbourne. Modelling of traffic volumes in 2031 compared to a base case in 2031 of not building the West Gate Tunnel showed that, in North Melbourne and West Melbourne:
In Docklands, Wurundjeri Way would be widened from 4 to 6 lanes, and is expected to carry another 9,000 vehicles per day. Docklands’ Harbour Esplanade, which is currently highly accommodating of pedestrians and cyclists, will have an extra 500 vehicles per day, slowing down trams in the morning and afternoon rush hours. These changes would Docklands into a throughway between the West Gate Tunnel and industrial areas in Port Melbourne and South Melbourne.