- Published:
- Tuesday 7 October 2025 at 11:30 am
Get ready, Victoria. The Metro Tunnel will open in early December with hundreds of new services a week.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams today announced the Summer Start program for the tunnel’s opening in December, followed by the Big Switch network-wide timetable integration on 1 February.
The Summer Start
When the Metro Tunnel opens in early December, we kick off the Summer Start with hundreds of weekly services.
During the Summer Start period, Metro Tunnel services will run seven days a week and stop at all five new underground stations: Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac.
- Monday to Friday – services every 20 minutes from 10.00am until 3:00pm between Westall (Cranbourne and Pakenham lines) and West Footscray (Sunbury line)
- Weekends – services every 20 minutes from 10.00am until 7.00pm between Westall and West Footscray, every 40 minutes from East Pakenham, and every 60 minutes from Sunbury.
That means there are more than 240 extra services a week during the Summer Start for passengers along the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury corridor – all running through the Metro Tunnel – in addition to existing services.
Existing services on those lines will continue as normal through the City Loop during the Summer Start, and passengers can connect to the Metro Tunnel at interchange locations, including Footscray and Caulfield stations.
The timetable will also stay the same on every other line during the Summer Start. Passengers on these lines can change to a Metro Tunnel service at Flinders Street or Melbourne Central without tapping on or off.
The Summer Start is key to the Metro Tunnel opening safer, smoother and sooner.
International best practice is clear: the best way to make sure everything runs well is to open the tunnel and run services first, then make the big timetable switch afterwards – not attempt them simultaneously.
It also saves time. Instead of the tunnel sitting idle during the lead-in time for the new timetable, we can open it immediately upon safety approval and get people moving sooner on hundreds of new services.
During the Summer Start, we also get to use the new infrastructure and technology in real-world conditions, so bugs can be ironed out without disrupting the rest of the train network.
What’s in it for passengers? Faster travel across the city through the new tunnel — around 12 minutes end-to-end on hundreds of new services a week – plus new direct access to Melbourne’s major hospitals, universities, and St Kilda Rd, and time for everyone to get familiar with the new system and its stations.
The Big Switch
On Sunday, February 1, we overhaul Victoria’s entire train network.
On that day, we fully integrate the Metro Tunnel into the wider transport network, we implement thousands of individual timetable changes at once, we commence more than 1,000 new weekly train services, and we directly change the way half of passengers on the network move around Melbourne day-to-day.
This is the moment when all services on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines travel exclusively through the new tunnel. These lines are the backbone of Melbourne’s train system – and they will transform.
The Big Switch will launch 1,000 new weekly services and kick off a turn-up-and-go network on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
Trains will run at least every 10 minutes between Watergardens and Dandenong stations between 6:00am to 9:00pm through the Metro Tunnel.
During the peak, services between Watergardens and Dandenong will arrive on average every three to four minutes.
The Big Switch is also the day when Frankston line services return to the City Loop, improving access to the CBD for thousands of passengers on one of Melbourne’s busiest lines.
A new timetable will be in place everywhere – including buses, trams, regional and metropolitan trains.
That’s a massive change that will cause flow on effects to the whole system.
We’re going to spend months communicating with passengers about how they can make the most of their new and improved journey plans.
The Metro Tunnel is the biggest transformation of Melbourne’s rail network in more than 40 years and frees up space in the City Loop to run more trains, more often, on more lines.
Never forget, the Liberals called the Metro Tunnel a “hoax”. They consistently refused to fund it. Never in their wildest dreams did they think it would actually get built.
It opens this year.
Quotes attributable to Premier Jacinta Allan
“Christmas is coming early for everyone on the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury lines, who’ll have hundreds of new services every week from the start of December.”
“What an incredible moment for our state – Victorians have patiently waited for this tunnel to get built underneath their feet and behind big sheds, and now they’ll be able to use it.”
“The Metro Tunnel will transform Melbourne, cut congestion and get you to work, uni and home sooner – and it opens in early December, a year ahead of schedule.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams
“The Summer Start is how we’re opening the tunnel safer, smoother and sooner.”
“We’re going to spend months communicating with passengers in the lead up to and after the Big Switch, so they know how their journey will change and improve.”