The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has revived Melbourne’s stagnant Metro rail tunnel project, having scrapped the former government’s plans for the East West Link cross-city road tunnel.
On Monday, Andrews announced that $40m in funding from Labor’s $300m election commitment towards the Melbourne Metro had been fast-tracked ahead of the May budget. It would be used to establish a Melbourne Metro authority to oversee immediate planning work, he said.
But with an estimated cost of between $9bn and 11bn, the project will require significant funding from private investors and the federal government.
The revised plan includes five new underground stations at Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain, effectively providing a second city loop. The project also links passengers to the University of Melbourne and hospital precincts, and to the business districts in Parkville and on St Kilda Road.
Tony Abbott has previously said $3bn in federal funding allocated to the East West Link could not be redirected to other projects.
But Andrews said he was confident the prime minister would allocate one third of the funding required for the revived Melbourne Metro.
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