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139-445: The Metro Tunnel , formerly known as Melbourne Metro Rail ( MMR ), is an underground heavy rail project currently under construction in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia . It involves the construction of twin 9-kilometre (5.6 mi) rail tunnels between South Kensington (north west of the Melbourne central business district ) and South Yarra (in the south east) with five new underground stations. The tunnel will connect

278-450: A "significant political risk". On 15 April 2015, the government announced that the MMRA had selected a route along Swanston Street as the preferred alignment for the project. The announcement revealed that routes under Elizabeth Street and Russell Street had been considered but were rejected on the basis of engineering difficulties and lack of connectivity respectively. For similar reasons,

417-425: A body of water), which are potential congestion sites but also offer an opportunity for transfers between lines. Ring lines provide good coverage, connect between the radial lines and serve tangential trips that would otherwise need to cross the typically congested core of the network. A rough grid pattern can offer a wide variety of routes while still maintaining reasonable speed and frequency of service. A study of

556-454: A code for its stations. Unlike that of Singapore's MRT, it is mostly numbers. Based on the line number, for example Sinyongsan station, is coded as station 429. Being on Line 4, the first number of the station code is 4. The last two numbers are the station number on that line. Interchange stations can have multiple codes. Like City Hall station in Seoul which is served by Line 1 and Line 2. It has

695-651: A code of 132 and 201 respectively. The Line 2 is a circle line and the first stop is City Hall, therefore, City Hall has the station code of 201. For lines without a number like Bundang line it will have an alphanumeric code. Lines without a number that are operated by KORAIL will start with the letter 'K'. With widespread use of the Internet and cell phones globally, transit operators now use these technologies to present information to their users. In addition to online maps and timetables, some transit operators now offer real-time information which allows passengers to know when

834-583: A conventional track is often provided in case of flat tires and for switching . There are also some rubber-tired systems that use a central guide rail , such as the Sapporo Municipal Subway and the NeoVal system in Rennes , France. Advocates of this system note that it is much quieter than conventional steel-wheeled trains, and allows for greater inclines given the increased traction of

973-405: A dedicated right-of-way are typically used only outside dense areas, since they create a physical barrier in the urban fabric that hinders the flow of people and vehicles across their path and have a larger physical footprint. This method of construction is the cheapest as long as land values are low. It is often used for new systems in areas that are planned to fill up with buildings after the line

1112-417: A final report, containing recommendations on every topic covered. The Lonie Report argued that, despite the immense change in demand for various modes of transport since the beginning of the twentieth century, the system was still run by the same methods as prevailed in the nineteenth century. It argued for large-scale deregulation of transport markets, especially by the removal of the current restrictions on

1251-493: A future federal government would change the policy. Towards the end of the month, the Andrews government announced that $ 1.5 billion would be allocated in the upcoming state Budget for the full cost of pre-construction works, land and property acquisition, and detailed route investigations, on top of the already announced money for planning. Among the work funded was the drilling of 140 bore holes to establish ground conditions along

1390-418: A large number of factors, including geographical barriers, existing or expected travel patterns, construction costs, politics, and historical constraints. A transit system is expected to serve an area of land with a set of lines , which consist of shapes summarized as "I", "L", "U", "S", and "O" shapes or loops. Geographical barriers may cause chokepoints where transit lines must converge (for example, to cross

1529-652: A large part of the network, for example, in outer suburbs, runs at ground level. In most of Britain , a subway is a pedestrian underpass . The terms Underground and Tube are used for the London Underground . The North East England Tyne and Wear Metro , mostly overground, is known as the Metro . In Scotland , the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway . In Ireland ,

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1668-452: A line is obtained by multiplying the car capacity, the train length, and the service frequency . Heavy rapid transit trains might have six to twelve cars, while lighter systems may use four or fewer. Cars have a capacity of 100 to 150 passengers, varying with the seated to standing ratio  – more standing gives higher capacity. The minimum time interval between trains is shorter for rapid transit than for mainline railways owing to

1807-615: A metro. In Spain, such systems are present in Madrid , Barcelona , Bilbao and Valencia . In Portugal, Lisbon has a metro. The Italian cities of Catania , Genoa , Milan , Naples , Rome and Turin also have metro lines. In Germany and Austria they rapid transit is known as U-Bahn , which are often supported by S-Bahn systems. In Germany, U-Bahn systems exist in Berlin , Hamburg , Munich and Nuremberg , while in Austria such

1946-537: A move criticised by opposition parties and public transport advocates. Investigative drilling along Swanston Street began in early June, with the government announcing later in June that negotiations with the financiers of the cancelled EWL had concluded, enabling the $ 3 billion credit facility to be redirected to the Metro Tunnel. In August, tunnel boring machines were announced as the preferred engineering option for

2085-513: A plan for the reorganisation and revitalisation of country passenger rail services, was unveiled in February 1981. The following country passenger rail lines were closed: Some of those lines remained open for freight. Passenger services to Cobram, Stony Point and Leongatha were reinstated by the incoming Labor government . The Baxter to Mornington line became a heritage railway . The Cobram and Leongatha passenger services were closed again by

2224-591: A positive assessment of the project's business case and urging the federal government to contribute funding to the tunnel. Meanwhile, a case was lodged in the Supreme Court of Victoria by protest groups in an attempt to force the government and MMRA to reroute the project around the St Kilda Road precinct. Objections to the tunnel's construction were strengthened in February, when the federal government implemented an emergency heritage protection order for

2363-527: A rapid transit setting. Lonie Report The Victorian Transport Study , better known as the Lonie Report , was an extensive study of freight and passenger transport within the state of Victoria, Australia . The study was set up on 13 June 1979 by the Government of Victoria , and the report was published on 26 September 1980. Murray Lonie, a retired executive of General Motors and BHP ,

2502-624: A road bypass of Lilydale on the Maroondah Highway , and argued for the introduction of clearways on main suburban streets to speed up road traffic. Another recommendation of the report was the staggering of school and work hours to spread out the demand on public transport services, which it said would reduce the overcrowding on those services during peak periods, and the number of under-used services at other times. The report argued that be done through employers being encouraged by government to develop more flexible hours. The release of

2641-478: A rollout of high-capacity signalling (HCS) between Watergardens and Dandenong, was the first awarded in Australia for HCS implementation on existing rail lines. At the end of August, the state government launched a public naming competition for the tunnel's five new stations, to replace the working names used since the project's genesis. The competition provoked a wide public response, with arguments over whether

2780-565: A specialized transit police may be established. These security measures are normally integrated with measures to protect revenue by checking that passengers are not travelling without paying. Some subway systems, such as the Beijing Subway , which is ranked by Worldwide Rapid Transit Data as the "World's Safest Rapid Transit Network" in 2015, incorporates airport-style security checkpoints at every station. Rapid transit systems have been subject to terrorism with many casualties, such as

2919-404: A station at South Yarra should his party win government the following year. Despite ongoing legal battles, tree felling in the St Kilda Road precinct began in February 2018, marking the commencement of significant construction in the area and the consortium's commitment to its design solution for the tunnel. Then, on 20 February, the state government released the tunnel contracts, and announced that

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3058-608: A system exists in Vienna . In addition, the small, car-free town of Serfaus in the Austrian state of Tyrol also features a short U-Bahn line. There are no U-Bahn systems in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but the city of Lausanne has its own, small metro system. In Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, a project for a U-Bahn network was stopped by a referendum in the 1970s and instead its S-Bahn system

3197-578: A tunnel conceptually similar to the Currie plan, but running from Jewell station in the north to Windsor in the south-east. In 2008, transport planner Sir Rod Eddington handed down the findings of a report into Melbourne's east–west transport needs , following a commission by the Brumby Government . The Eddington Report recommended two key projects in the city centre: an East West Link road tunnel providing an alternative cross-town route to

3336-801: Is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area . Rapid transit systems such as the Washington Metrorail , Los Angeles Metro Rail , the Miami Metrorail , and the Montreal Metro are generally called the Metro . In Philadelphia , the term "El" is used for the Market–Frankford Line which runs mostly on an elevated track, while the term "subway" applies to the Broad Street Line which is almost entirely underground. Chicago 's commuter rail system that serves

3475-608: Is a single corporate image for the entire transit authority, but the rapid transit uses its own logo that fits into the profile. A transit map is a topological map or schematic diagram used to show the routes and stations in a public transport system. The main components are color-coded lines to indicate each line or service, with named icons to indicate stations. Maps may show only rapid transit or also include other modes of public transport. Transit maps can be found in transit vehicles, on platforms , elsewhere in stations, and in printed timetables . Maps help users understand

3614-580: Is being delivered by the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority, at an estimated cost of $ 12.8 billion. Melbourne's original development occurred at a time when railway technology began to emerge as a feasible and efficient mode of transit. This led to a symbiotic relationship between the CBD and the rail network which grew to surround it. An almost purely radial system of lines, developed largely before 1930, linked

3753-506: Is built. Most rapid transit trains are electric multiple units with lengths from three to over ten cars. Crew sizes have decreased throughout history, with some modern systems now running completely unstaffed trains. Other trains continue to have drivers, even if their only role in normal operation is to open and close the doors of the trains at stations. Power is commonly delivered by a third rail or by overhead wires . The whole London Underground network uses fourth rail and others use

3892-416: Is necessary, rolling stock with a smaller loading gauge from one sub network may be transported along other lines that use larger trains. On some networks such operations are part of normal services. Most rapid transit systems use conventional standard gauge railway track . Since tracks in subway tunnels are not exposed to rain , snow , or other forms of precipitation , they are often fixed directly to

4031-555: Is referred to simply as "the subway", despite 40% of the system running above ground. The term "L" or "El" is not used for elevated lines in general as the lines in the system are already designated with letters and numbers. The "L" train or L (New York City Subway service) refers specifically to the 14th Street–Canarsie Local line, and not other elevated trains. Similarly, the Toronto Subway is referred to as "the subway", with some of its system also running above ground. These are

4170-412: Is serviced by at least one specific route with trains stopping at all or some of the line's stations. Most systems operate several routes, and distinguish them by colors, names, numbering, or a combination thereof. Some lines may share track with each other for a portion of their route or operate solely on their own right-of-way. Often a line running through the city center forks into two or more branches in

4309-748: Is the most commonly used term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. Rapid transit systems may be named after the medium by which passengers travel in busy central business districts ; the use of tunnels inspires names such as subway , underground , Untergrundbahn ( U-Bahn ) in German, or the Tunnelbana (T-bana) in Swedish. The use of viaducts inspires names such as elevated ( L or el ), skytrain , overhead , overground or Hochbahn in German. One of these terms may apply to an entire system, even if

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4448-627: The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is despite the name considered a commuter rail due to usage of mainline railways. In France, large cities, such as Paris , Marseille and Lyon , feature a Métro . Also the smaller cities of Lille Rennes have a light metro. Furthermore, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands have metro systems in place. Several Southern European contries also have

4587-752: The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad K-series cars from 1958, the New York City Subway R38 and R42 cars from the late-1960s, and the Nagoya Municipal Subway 3000 series , Osaka Municipal Subway 10 series and MTR M-Train EMUs from the 1970s, were generally only made possible largely due to the relatively generous loading gauges of these systems and also adequate open-air sections to dissipate hot air from these air conditioning units. Especially in some rapid transit systems such as

4726-638: The Kennett Government . Jeff Kennett himself publicly endorsed the Lonie Report. The Hamer Government's plans to close several suburban rail lines were halted because of strong protests. However, the St. Kilda and Port Melbourne lines were converted to light rail a few years later. Late-night services on the Upfield Line were eliminated (they were restored in 1997) and a multimodal fare system

4865-429: The London Underground . In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway , initially a cable-hauled line using stationary steam engines . As of 2021 , China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world  – 40 in number, running on over 4,500 km (2,800 mi) of track – and was responsible for most of the world's rapid-transit expansion in

5004-592: The Manchester Unity Building in the CBD, along with the University of Melbourne, making submissions to the MMRA suggesting their properties were at serious risk of damage from construction and operation vibration. The authority responded that it would work with stakeholders to minimise impacts and ensure the project did not produce any adverse impacts. In the same month, the state government announced an upgrade of South Yarra station separate from

5143-615: The Melbourne tram network , including upgrading lines along St Kilda Road and Chapel Street to light rail standards. In 2006, the state government considered a plan to construct a combined road and rail tunnel beneath the Yarra River to provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge , but the idea was deemed unfeasible. By 2007, the planned third track to Dandenong was effectively abandoned, with no money provided for

5282-740: The Metropolitan Railway opened publicly in London in 1863. High capacity monorails with larger and longer trains can be classified as rapid transit systems. Such monorail systems recently started operating in Chongqing and São Paulo . Light metro is a subclass of rapid transit that has the speed and grade separation of a "full metro" but is designed for smaller passenger numbers. It often has smaller loading gauges, lighter train cars and smaller consists of typically two to four cars. Light metros are typically used as feeder lines into

5421-578: The Montreal Metro (opened 1966) and Sapporo Municipal Subway (opened 1971), their entirely enclosed nature due to their use of rubber-tyred technology to cope with heavy snowfall experienced by both cities in winter precludes any air-conditioning retrofits of rolling stock due to the risk of heating the tunnels to temperatures that would be too hot for passengers and for train operations. In many cities, metro networks consist of lines operating different sizes and types of vehicles. Although these sub-networks may not often be connected by track, in cases when it

5560-570: The Pakenham and Cranbourne lines with the Sunbury line , creating a new high-frequency cross-city line that bypasses Flinders Street station and the City Loop . The line is also planned to serve Melbourne Airport via a new branch line west of Sunshine . The project will enable the operational separation of various existing lines on Melbourne's rail network and increase the capacity of

5699-589: The Prague Metro . The London Underground and Paris Métro are densely built systems with a matrix of crisscrossing lines throughout the cities. The Chicago 'L' has most of its lines converging on The Loop , the main business, financial, and cultural area. Some systems have a circular line around the city center connecting to radially arranged outward lines, such as the Moscow Metro 's Koltsevaya Line and Beijing Subway 's Line 10 . The capacity of

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5838-685: The Singapore MRT , Changi Airport MRT station has the alphanumeric code CG2, indicating its position as the 2nd station on the Changi Airport branch of the East West Line. Interchange stations have at least two codes, for example, Raffles Place MRT station has two codes, NS26 and EW14, the 26th station on the North South Line and the 14th station on the East West Line. The Seoul Metro is another example that utilizes

5977-481: The West Gate Bridge , and a 17 km (11 mi) rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield via the CBD. According to Eddington, the tunnel would increase the capacity of the central rail network by removing some trains from the City Loop, allowing future extensions to the suburban lines. In December that year, the project was incorporated into the government's Victorian Transport Plan , to be built in two stages:

6116-450: The deep tube lines . Historically, rapid transit trains used ceiling fans and openable windows to provide fresh air and piston-effect wind cooling to riders. From the 1950s to the 1990s (and in most of Europe until the 2000s), many rapid transit trains from that era were also fitted with forced-air ventilation systems in carriage ceiling units for passenger comfort. Early rapid transit rolling stock fitted with air conditioning , such as

6255-409: The linear motor for propulsion. Some urban rail lines are built to a loading gauge as large as that of main-line railways ; others are built to a smaller one and have tunnels that restrict the size and sometimes the shape of the train compartments. One example is most of the London Underground , which has acquired the informal term "tube train" due to the cylindrical shape of the trains used on

6394-476: The privatisation of rail services in the late 1990s, which limited the flexibility of planners in dealing with the burgeoning passenger numbers. Consequently, a large number of services were experiencing major overcrowding in peak periods. A series of planning documents released during the early 2000s, including Melbourne 2030 (2002), Linking Melbourne (2004) and Meeting Our Transport Challenges (2006) identified that significant capacity constraints existed in

6533-464: The (then) 211 Victorian local government areas , wrote submissions to the study, as did a large number of lobby groups representing various positions on the question of transport planning. The writing of the report was done between December 1979 and its final publication in September 1980. It was presented to Transport Minister Rob Maclellan , and was released as a total of twenty-five volumes and

6672-432: The 15 world largest subway systems suggested a universal shape composed of a dense core with branches radiating from it. Rapid transit operators have often built up strong brands , often focused on easy recognition – to allow quick identification even in the vast array of signage found in large cities – combined with the desire to communicate speed, safety, and authority. In many cities, there

6811-488: The 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack and the 2005 " 7/7 " terrorist bombings on the London Underground. Some rapid transport trains have extra features such as wall sockets, cellular reception, typically using a leaky feeder in tunnels and DAS antennas in stations, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity. The first metro system in the world to enable full mobile phone reception in underground stations and tunnels

6950-621: The 2010s. The world's longest single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro . The world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations (472 stations in total) is the New York City Subway . The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Shanghai Metro, Tokyo subway system , Seoul Metro and the Moscow Metro . The term Metro

7089-429: The 2016 state budget, Premier Daniel Andrews and his Treasurer Tim Pallas declared that the state would bear the entire cost of the project in lieu of federal funds, using a combination of increased revenues from a strong property market, and an increase to the states net debt over the following decade. The federal budget released in 2016 did however include $ 857 million redirected from other infrastructure projects to

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7228-532: The 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion, operating some of the largest and busiest systems while possessing almost 60 cities that are operating, constructing or planning a rapid transit system . Rapid transit is used for local transport in cities , agglomerations , and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people often short distances at high frequency . The extent of

7367-477: The CBD. In 2005, The Age reported that it had received a number of proposals from planning experts and engineers for rail "loops and arcs" in the central city, and publicised a plan published by Monash University professor Graham Currie for a tunnel between the University of Melbourne to the north of the city and South Yarra station to the south-east. Currie's plan also envisaged extensive improvements to

7506-506: The CBD. It also outlined a service plan for the tunnel, proposing an initial peak hour flow of 8 trains per hour in each direction. In February the following year, the state government announced that it was considering alternative alignments for the tunnel, because of concerns that cut and cover construction in Swanston Street would result in a massive disruption to traffic and retail activity for an extended period of time. At

7645-580: The East West Link (EWL) road tunnel rather than the rail tunnel. Then Labor opposition Daniel Andrews promised that "under no circumstances" would it build the EWL if elected. As an alternative, Labor proposed reinstating the original Metro Tunnel plan, which retained the support of senior public servants in the Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure . According to their analysis,

7784-492: The Legislative Council. A major milestone was reached in mid-April when City Square was fenced off for the commencement of construction and staging works. A few days later, the government announced that bids for the major construction contract had been received from each of the consortia selected on the previous year's shortlist. Cross Yarra Partnership, led by Lendlease , was named as the "preferred bidder" for

7923-507: The Lonie Report by the government of Rupert Hamer led immediately to severe criticism, particularly from the large number of people who used the rail services that the report recommended eliminating. As a result of public protests in the last three months of 1980, the Hamer Government was forced to reject a number of the report's recommendations. All tram services were retained, and the $ 115 million New Deal for Country Passengers ,

8062-557: The Lonie Report had, as an underlying assumption, falling levels of public transport patronage. It failed to foresee Melbourne's rapid population growth, due to immigration , and increasing population density. The Lonie Report noted the rapidly increasing levels of government subsidy to public transport. According to the report, at the time, cost recovery through fares was 53% for the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board and 49% for VicRail , both of which would now be considered high rates of cost recovery. Increasing subsidy levels are

8201-506: The Metro Tunnel as the centrepiece of a 20-year strategy for improving the Melbourne suburban rail network. Public Transport Victoria argued that any expansion of the system was "impossible" without vastly improved capacity in the core of the network. The NDPMR envisaged the tunnel's construction taking place from 2017 to 2022, enabling the segregation of the rail system into four independently operated lines, each with their own routes through

8340-602: The Metro Tunnel, in order to address the concerns about its lack of connectivity to the project. Following a series of announcements of major rail projects prior to the state budget in May, the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority was renamed to Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) to reflect its involvement in projects outside the Metro Tunnel. Final designs and concept images for the new stations were released in May 2018, using materials and features intended to reflect

8479-521: The Parkville and St Kilda Road areas served by the Metro Tunnel. In April, June, and July 2019, multiple rail lines in Melbourne's east were shut down for several weeks to allow construction of the tunnel entrances near Kensington and South Yarra. The first tunnel boring machine began to be assembled in North Melbourne in June 2019. In February 2020, TBM Joan completed the first section of

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8618-478: The beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. In 1890, the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening, the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing

8757-476: The benefits of freeway building, which had been propagated by governments before and since the Lonie Report, were overstated. Indeed, the Lonie Report could be seen as evidence for the relatively recent claims by academic Guy Pearse that car, mineral and fossil fuel lobby groups have long written government policy on energy and transport in Australia (see Greenhouse Mafia ). Perhaps more potent than criticisms based upon supposed involvement of vested interests,

8896-526: The carriage by road of such goods as cement , sawn timber, fertilisers and grain. The report was particularly concerned about the operating losses made by VicRail , due to significant declines in patronage and large increases in car ownership. The report argued that it would be much too expensive to upgrade the rail system to be competitive with the car, or even with buses, and therefore: The report stated that because of increasing demand, Victoria's major highways should be duplicated. It also argued for

9035-479: The central core and on the Dandenong corridor, but did not propose any significant capital works in the city centre, instead suggesting that the issues could be resolved by relatively minor operational changes and construction of a third track to Dandenong . Outside the state government, support grew for a more substantial augmentation of the rail network, with many such ideas based on new underground lines through

9174-485: The change was disputed, with the government claiming the additional tunnelling expense would be met by the savings of services remaining in place, but opposition parties arguing the change could be up to $ 1 billion more expensive. With the key engineering details in place, the scope of the project and its associated disruptions gradually became public. The government first announced in October it would compulsorily acquire

9313-455: The character of the five station precincts. CYP, RPV and Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan expressed their hope that the designs would be accepted and integrated into the Melbourne landscape as new cultural icons following their completion. In June, the state government released modelling demonstrating the project's contribution to improved accessibility in the CBD, with travel time savings from virtually all parts of Greater Melbourne to

9452-463: The city's rail system. As a result, the extensions to the outer suburban network which had been envisaged as a succession to the Loop itself did not eventuate. Meanwhile, patronage on the network had entered a long period of decline, which culminated in the Lonie Report of 1980 recommending the closure of several lines. The need for an overhaul of the existing commuter rail network was first discussed in

9591-440: The constraints of the existing rail system, which was rapidly approaching its maximum capacity. The Department of Transport commenced geotechnical drillings and route investigations. A dispute between the federal and state government over the funding for the tunnel intensified in 2013, with the approach of that year's federal election . The state budget in early May revealed that none of the $ 50 million in planning money allocated

9730-517: The construction contract in July. The station designs presented by the consortium were released publicly, as well as details of connections to existing stations and streetscapes. Shortly afterwards, Bombardier was announced as the successful tenderer for the signalling and communication systems contract, and supplied plans to build signal control centres in Sunshine and Dandenong. The contract, including

9869-537: The contractor could take over running of the line in addition to its construction. However, federal opposition leader Tony Abbott declared that if he was elected in the 2013 federal election , no Commonwealth money would be spent on urban passenger rail, and that any commitment to the Melbourne Metro tunnel project would be revoked. Meanwhile, Public Transport Victoria 's Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail (NDPMR), released in early 2013, identified

10008-414: The display of the transit network. Often this has the effect of compressing the distance between stations in the outer area of the system, and expanding distances between those close to the center. Some systems assign unique alphanumeric codes to each of their stations to help commuters identify them, which briefly encodes information about the line it is on, and its position on the line. For example, on

10147-405: The early 2000s as unprecedented population growth began to place significant pressure on existing rail infrastructure and constraints on the inner core of the network as it approached capacity. Other problems faced by the network in the first decade of the 21st century included inefficient operations which had developed during years of low patronage, and a loss of corporate memory , caused in part by

10286-689: The effect of transport on the balanced development of the State. To some extent, the Lonie Report followed on from the Bland Report , a 1972 inquiry into land transport in Victoria by Sir Henry Bland , but was extended to cover a much greater number of topics, including, but not limited to, ports and air transport . There were special sections for the transport of certain important commodities, including cement and grain . Between June and December 1979, 41 individuals, 21 government agencies, and 28 of

10425-550: The elimination of the large number of regulatory mechanisms that governed transport in Victoria before the 1980s, which culminated in the privatisation of public transport in the 1990s. Some of the report's recommendations were carried out before Kennett became Premier, such as the linking of the South Eastern Freeway to the Mulgrave Freeway . The Lonie Report has been firmly criticised ever since it

10564-611: The entire metropolitan area is called Metra (short for Met ropolitan Ra il), while its rapid transit system that serves the city is called the "L" . Boston's subway system is known locally as "The T". In Atlanta , the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority goes by the acronym "MARTA." In the San Francisco Bay Area , residents refer to Bay Area Rapid Transit by its acronym "BART". The New York City Subway

10703-471: The first from Footscray to St Kilda Road, and the second along the rest of the route. Following the 2010 Victorian election , the newly elected Baillieu Government abandoned the Brumby transport plan, and announced that each of the projects would be individually reviewed, some by the newly created Public Transport Development Authority . Then, in its 2012 budget, the government announced a revised version of

10842-516: The floor rather than resting on ballast , such as normal railway tracks. An alternate technology, using rubber tires on narrow concrete or steel roll ways , was pioneered on certain lines of the Paris Métro and Mexico City Metro , and the first completely new system to use it was in Montreal , Canada. On most of these networks, additional horizontal wheels are required for guidance, and

10981-406: The full business case for the project was released which detailed its design. Early that year, geotechnical drilling was extended to the Yarra River , as political arguments continued over the Metro Tunnel's funding arrangements. Having selected a public-private partnership model based on long-term maintenance and commercial opportunities for investment, and with a new business case released publicly,

11120-462: The government emphasised that the competition was not to be judged by popular demand but by a panel of experts. The selected names for the stations – North Melbourne, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac – were announced in November of that year, with the government deciding on "common sense" options based on geographic location and ease of pronunciation. The existing North Melbourne station

11259-466: The government promised that the realignment would enable a Melbourne Airport rail link to be constructed from Southern Cross at the same time. Ultimately, the reconfiguration of the rail network was to have produced similar operational outcomes as the Melbourne Metro plan, with a Sunbury-Dandenong corridor operating directly between Southern Cross and Flinders Street in both directions, but with an additional end-to-end line from Frankston to Ringwood via

11398-488: The government revealed in the days following the budget that it had not produced a business case for its plan, and that the decision had been taken primarily on the basis of a "common sense" need to service its urban redevelopment project at Fishermans Bend. Other concerns emerged in the months following the budget, with experts publicly questioning whether the Napthine government had committed sufficient funding, and whether

11537-525: The growing suburbs to the economic hub of the city centre, producing a system which supported the daily flow of passengers into and out of the city to access employment opportunities. Despite the increasingly car-oriented developments of the mid-20th century, the suburban rail lines in Melbourne continued to discourage any decentralisation of employment, leaving the city unusually dependent on its central core when compared to cities of similar size globally. The first underground rail line to be built in Melbourne

11676-439: The interconnections between different parts of the system; for example, they show the interchange stations where passengers can transfer between lines. Unlike conventional maps, transit maps are usually not geographically accurate, but emphasize the topological connections among the different stations. The graphic presentation may use straight lines and fixed angles, and often a fixed minimum distance between stations, to simplify

11815-406: The launch of its 2014 budget, the Napthine government announced that the Metro Tunnel project would be abandoned and replaced with an alternative proposal called the "Melbourne Rail Link". The MRL route consisted of a tunnel from South Yarra to Southern Cross via Kings Domain and Fishermans Bend , where it would join existing City Loop tunnels reconfigured for bidirectional traffic . Furthermore,

11954-602: The lines of the Lyon Metro includes a section of rack (cog) railway , while the Carmelit , in Haifa, is an underground funicular . For elevated lines, another alternative is the monorail , which can be built either as straddle-beam monorails or as a suspended monorail . While monorails have never gained wide acceptance outside Japan, there are some such as Chongqing Rail Transit 's monorail lines which are widely used in

12093-557: The main rapid transit system. For instance, the Wenhu Line of the Taipei Metro serves many relatively sparse neighbourhoods and feeds into and complements the high capacity metro lines. Some systems have been built from scratch, others are reclaimed from former commuter rail or suburban tramway systems that have been upgraded, and often supplemented with an underground or elevated downtown section. Ground-level alignments with

12232-436: The names should reflect geographic location, cultural heritage, or tongue-in-cheek references such as Station McStationface . By the time the competition closed at the end of October, more than 50,000 submissions had been made, and the project had gained international attention with author George R. R. Martin commenting on suggestions that the stations be named after locations from his Game of Thrones series of books. However,

12371-418: The network map "readable" by illiterate people, this system has since become an "icon" of the system. Compared to other modes of transport, rapid transit has a good safety record, with few accidents. Rail transport is subject to strict safety regulations , with requirements for procedure and maintenance to minimize risk. Head-on collisions are rare due to use of double track, and low operating speeds reduce

12510-505: The new tracks. According to government ministers, the Melbourne Rail Link offered greater capacity increases and less disruption during the construction phase than existing plans. However, it was heavily criticised, including by Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle , who described the route change as a potential "100-year catastrophe" because of its failure to service the Parkville medical and research precinct. Furthermore,

12649-402: The next vehicle will arrive, and expected travel times. The standardized GTFS data format for transit information allows many third-party software developers to produce web and smartphone app programs which give passengers customized updates regarding specific transit lines and stations of interest. Mexico City Metro uses a unique pictogram for each station. Originally intended to help make

12788-902: The occurrence and severity of rear-end collisions and derailments . Fire is more of a danger underground, such as the King's Cross fire in London in November 1987, which killed 31 people. Systems are generally built to allow evacuation of trains at many places throughout the system. High platforms , usually over 1 meter / 3 feet, are a safety risk, as people falling onto the tracks have trouble climbing back. Platform screen doors are used on some systems to eliminate this danger. Rapid transit facilities are public spaces and may suffer from security problems: petty crimes , such as pickpocketing and baggage theft, and more serious violent crimes , as well as sexual assaults on tightly packed trains and platforms. Security measures include video surveillance , security guards , and conductors . In some countries

12927-603: The only two North American systems that are primarily called "subways". In most of Southeast Asia and in Taiwan , rapid transit systems are primarily known by the acronym MRT . The meaning varies from one country to another. In Indonesia , the acronym stands for Moda Raya Terpadu or Integrated Mass [Transit] Mode in English. In the Philippines , it stands for Metro Rail Transit . Two underground lines use

13066-600: The original completion date of 2026 had been brought forward to a new target of 2025. The announcement also included a response to the Opposition's intention to renegotiate the design, with Premier Daniel Andrews claiming it would mean a two-year delay to the overall project. In April, further concerns about the tunnel's impact on buildings near its route emerged, with managers of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Parkville and

13205-464: The original route, and promised a further $ 300 million in its upcoming budget. It also revealed that a $ 3 billion line of credit originally established to fund the EWL would be redirected to the Melbourne Metro project. A timeline was provided, with construction expected to commence in 2018 and the tunnel to be open in 2026. Meanwhile, the federal government continued to refuse to fund the project, which led some observers to describe Andrews' commitment as

13344-492: The original tunnel route performed substantially better than the EWL in a cost-benefits analysis , but no such calculation had been performed for the new Melbourne Rail Link. On the eve of the election, it emerged that the Abbott federal government had redirected $ 3 billion in funding to the EWL, and that they would refuse to allow it to be used for the Melbourne Metro project. A Labor state government under Premier Daniel Andrews

13483-530: The outset. Budapest , Chicago , Glasgow , Boston and New York City all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro , which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems. In response to cost, engineering considerations and topological challenges some cities have opted to construct tram systems, particularly those in Australia, where density in cities

13622-542: The precinct, preventing the MMRA from removing around 100 trees. The Victorian government decried the move as a political stunt, and insisted that the project would go ahead as planned. At the same time, the Liberal state opposition attempted to grant the City of Stonnington planning powers over the project with a motion in state parliament, in order to force the inclusion of a South Yarra station connection, but eventually withdrew when sufficient support could not be secured in

13761-530: The previous year had been spent, with new premier Denis Napthine deferring the project in favour of the East West Link . Despite this, with the release of the 2013 federal budget a week later, the Gillard government committed $ 3 billion to the project on the condition that the state match the contribution. The remaining money was to be raised by a public–private partnership , with the possibility that

13900-413: The project in 2015. Initial construction works commenced in early 2017. Sections of the Melbourne central business district , including City Square and parts of Swanston Street , were closed to enable construction of the tunnel and stations. Tunnelling began in 2019 and was completed in 2021. The project was originally expected to be completed in 2026, but has now been brought forward to 2025. The project

14039-502: The project in that year's state budget, and opposition growing from the Public Transport Users Association and others. Later that year, it emerged that train operator Connex and coordinating authority Metlink were among stakeholders encouraging the government to consider a proposal similar to Currie's, but extended to Footscray in the city's west. Melbourne City Council , on the other hand, proposed

14178-703: The project's main contract, the "tunnel and stations" public-private partnership, was released in August, along with further details of the MMRA's recommended engineering solutions. The bidders were three consortia composed of engineering, construction and finance companies: Continuum Victoria, consisting Acciona Infrastructure , Ferrovial Agroman , Honeywell , Downer Rail , and Plenary Group ; Moving Melbourne Together, made up of Pacific Partnerships , CPB Contractors , Ghella, Salini Impregilo , Serco , and Macquarie Capital ; and Cross Yarra Partnership, including Lendlease , John Holland , Bouygues , and Capella Capital. At

14317-414: The properties of 63 households and 31 businesses at several locations on the tunnel route. Later, in November, road closures for up to five years were announced near construction sites, and specific station designs were released for the first time. The first package of works, a $ 300 million contract for site preparation and services relocation, was opened for tenders by MMRA on 25 November. In February 2016,

14456-490: The proposed route emerged when it emerged that the tunnel would not connect to South Yarra station and that the Pakenham and Cranbourne services would bypass the station entirely once the tunnel opened. Discussions about the funding of the project continued into late April. The state government acknowledged that the Abbott federal government would not make any contribution to the project, but stated that it remained "hopeful"

14595-483: The proposed tunnels could be engineered to successfully avoid the main Melbourne sewer . Member of the Legislative Assembly for Mulgrave (2002–2023) Premier of Victoria Ministries Elections Royal Commissions [REDACTED] By November, with the state election approaching, the rail tunnel had become a major point of contention in the campaign, with the government prioritising

14734-908: The rapid transit system varies greatly between cities, with several transport strategies. Some systems may extend only to the limits of the inner city, or to its inner ring of suburbs with trains making frequent station stops. The outer suburbs may then be reached by a separate commuter rail network where more widely spaced stations allow higher speeds. In some cases the differences between urban rapid transit and suburban systems are not clear. Rapid transit systems may be supplemented by other systems such as trolleybuses , regular buses , trams , or commuter rail. This combination of transit modes serves to offset certain limitations of rapid transit such as limited stops and long walking distances between outside access points. Bus or tram feeder systems transport people to rapid transit stops. Each rapid transit system consists of one or more lines , or circuits. Each line

14873-560: The reservation of land to allow the construction of road bypasses around major towns on those highways. Within Melbourne , it argued for extensions to the Eastern and South Eastern Freeways , for the linking of the West Gate Freeway to Port Melbourne , and for the building of a ring road around the city, claiming that those increases in road capacity were needed to meet the predicted demand for road transport. It also advocated

15012-526: The road in the first place. The Public Transport Users Association argued that the report did not consider that further public transport service reductions would cause a vicious circle of greater declines in patronage, poorer cost recovery and even larger deficits. The fact that the Lonie Report was written by people with a vested interest in increasing road transport has also led transport academics to question its assumptions and conclusions. The 1991 Russell Report, written by Professor Bill Russell, claimed that

15151-484: The route selected along Swanston Street was a shallow tunnel above the City Loop and CityLink tunnels, at a depth of 10 m (33 ft), and was therefore to be constructed using cut-and-cover methods. The announcement was criticised by representatives of city retailers, who claimed that the disruption would cause damage to their businesses. The government acknowledged massive changes to city access but assured retailers they would be treated fairly. Further concerns about

15290-432: The route. However, questions remained about the state government's capacity to fund the remainder of the project, and it was reported that no business case had been completed, despite this being Labor's key objection to the Melbourne Rail Link plan when in opposition. A levy on land tax for commercial properties benefiting from the tunnel, similar to that used on the City Loop and on the contemporary London Crossrail project,

15429-542: The rubber tires. However, they have higher maintenance costs and are less energy efficient. They also lose traction when weather conditions are wet or icy, preventing above-ground use of the Montréal Metro and limiting it on the Sapporo Municipal Subway, but not rubber-tired systems in other cities. Some cities with steep hills incorporate mountain railway technologies in their metros. One of

15568-459: The same time, the MMRA exercised its powers of compulsory acquisition to acquire City Square from the City of Melbourne, ahead of the original schedule. Over the following months, further details of the construction process were made public, including long-term road closures and the precise location of construction sites. The revelations included the MMRA's concerns about the impact of tunneling on

15707-702: The same time. In May 2020, major traffic changes were put in place near Flinders Street Station in order to improve safety around large trucks entering acoustic sheds as a part of the project. Left turns from St Kilda Road to Flinders Street were removed, and the pedestrian crossing between St Paul's Cathedral and Federation Square was temporarily closed. Rapid transit Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks . Some systems use guided rubber tires , magnetic levitation ( maglev ), or monorail . The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside

15846-473: The sections of the project under the Yarra River. The September federal Liberal leadership spill , which saw Malcolm Turnbull replace Abbott as prime minister, led to new hope for federal funding of the project when Turnbull announced he would consider all transport projects on their merits through Infrastructure Australia . In October 2015, the government announced it had abandoned earlier plans to run

15985-463: The state government continued to request a significant federal contribution, but the Turnbull government said it would not consider the project until it had been independently analysed by Infrastructure Australia . Despite the ongoing dispute, a shortlist of bidders was announced in late February for the early works package, and the construction timeline continued to suggest a 2016 start to works. In

16124-575: The structural integrity of CBD buildings, including Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral . In December 2017, the Government of Victoria selected the Cross Yarra Partnership to deliver the "tunnel and stations" public-private partnership. On 15 January 2017, works officially began on the project, with the partial closure of A'Beckett and Franklin streets in the CBD. The news was followed by Infrastructure Australia releasing

16263-663: The suburbs, allowing a higher service frequency in the center. This arrangement is used by many systems, such as the Copenhagen Metro , the Milan Metro , the Oslo Metro , the Istanbul Metro and the New York City Subway . Alternatively, there may be a single central terminal (often shared with the central railway station), or multiple interchange stations between lines in the city center, for instance in

16402-479: The system to allow metro-style frequencies. The Metro Tunnel project includes the installation of high-capacity signalling and platform screen doors . With the delivery of other associated projects including accessibility upgrades, the introduction of High Capacity Metro Trains , and the removal of all level crossings across the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury lines, it will allow the corridor to run to rapid transit standards. The state government began planning

16541-714: The term subway . In Thailand , it stands for Metropolitan Rapid Transit , previously using the Mass Rapid Transit name. Outside of Southeast Asia, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan, Taiwan , have their own MRT systems which stands for Mass Rapid Transit , as with Singapore and Malaysia . In general rapid transit is a synonym for "metro" type transit, though sometimes rapid transit is defined to include "metro", commuter trains and grade separated light rail . Also high-capacity bus-based transit systems can have features similar to "metro" systems. The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked

16680-530: The term Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were eventually merged into London Underground . The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset. The technology quickly spread to other cities in Europe , the United States, Argentina, and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and others being designed to be electric from

16819-511: The trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities . Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. The world's first rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened in 1863 using steam locomotives , and now forms part of

16958-421: The tunnel 10 metres beneath Swanston Street and above the existing City Loop tunnels and instead place parts of the project 40 metres (131 ft) underground between CBD North and CBD South stations. The decision was made to reduce the disruption to trams services and traders along Swanston Street and to avoid removing critical utilities, such as telecommunication lines, from beneath the street. The cost of

17097-459: The tunnel from Arden to Kensington, travelling 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) and installing 4,200 curved concrete segments to create 700 rings lining the walls of the tunnel. Two months later, TBM Meg completed the accompanying tunnel, from Arden to Kensington. The third TBM , TBM Millie, began tunnelling to the South Yarra eastern tunnel entrance on 27 April 2020. As part of this process, it

17236-411: The tunnel plan: a "Melbourne Metro" from South Kensington to South Yarra along a similar city centre route to Eddington's original proposal. The revised project included five underground stations, and was submitted to Infrastructure Australia where it was deemed "ready to proceed" and was listed as the highest-priority infrastructure project in Melbourne. A business case was quickly developed based on

17375-586: The tunnel, however, the funds did not represent additional support to Victoria but rather a reallocation of existing contributions. In June 2016, the John Holland Group was awarded a $ 324 million contract which includes the excavation of 35 metres (115 ft) deep open shafts adjacent to Swanston Street to enable the underground construction of the two new city stations, and the relocation of up to 100 subterranean utilities. Utility relocations started in July 2016. A shortlist of preferred bidders for

17514-601: The use of communications-based train control : the minimum headway can reach 90 seconds, but many systems typically use 120 seconds to allow for recovery from delays. Typical capacity lines allow 1,200 people per train, giving 36,000 passengers per hour per direction . However, much higher capacities are attained in East Asia with ranges of 75,000 to 85,000 people per hour achieved by MTR Corporation 's urban lines in Hong Kong. Rapid transit topologies are determined by

17653-559: Was Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which launched its first underground mobile phone network using AMPS in 1989. Many metro systems, such as the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and the Berlin U-Bahn, provide mobile data connections in their tunnels for various network operators. The technology used for public, mass rapid transit has undergone significant changes in the years since

17792-537: Was appointed to head the study, and the secretary was the head of the Country Roads Board , Robin Underwood. In the words of the authors the Lonie Report aimed to: institute a study into all freight and passenger transport within Victoria, and to and from Victoria, in order to produce a co-ordinated transport system capable of meeting the needs of all residents of Victoria, having particular regard to

17931-899: Was developed further. Other Central European countries also have metro lines, for example in the cities of Budapest (Hungary), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland). In Eastern Europe , metro systems are in operation in Minsk (Belarus), Kyiv (Ukraine), Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Moscow (Russia). In Southeastern European countries, there are metro systems in Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece), Belgrade (Serbia), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Istanbul (Turkey). In Northern Europe , rapid transit systems exist in Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden) and Helsinki (Finland). Various terms are used for rapid transit systems around North America . The term metro

18070-584: Was elected the following day, and immediately set about cancelling contracts for the EWL. At the same time however, new Treasurer Tim Pallas conceded that it would be "difficult" to deliver the Metro Tunnel given the complexities of the funding dispute. In February 2015, the Andrews government announced $ 40 million in immediate funding to establish the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority , in order to commence detailed planning work along

18209-501: Was established at the City Square building site for the public to view the construction works. On 18 December, the state government announced that it had finalised its contract with Cross Yarra Partnership, with a value of some $ 6 billion. Opposition leader Matthew Guy immediately signalled his intention to bring the dispute over the tunnel's design to the 2018 state election , writing to CYP to indicate that he would seek to include

18348-526: Was introduced that, unpredicted by the Report, boosted patronage to such an extent that historians believe it has been responsible for the survival of the system. Despite those changes, the Lonie Report proved very influential in transport planning, especially after the election of Jeff Kennett as premier. Indeed, the report could be seen as providing the basis for the "Linking Melbourne" project carried out during Kennett's seven years as Premier, and also for

18487-702: Was low and suburbs tended to spread out . Since the 1970s, the viability of underground train systems in Australian cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne , has been reconsidered and proposed as a solution to over-capacity. Melbourne had tunnels and stations developed in the 1970s and opened in 1980. The first line of the Sydney Metro was opened in 2019. Since the 1960s, many new systems have been introduced in Europe , Asia and Latin America . In

18626-408: Was lowered underground and assembled along with its counterpart TBM Alice. It tunnelled 1.7 kilometres (1.06 mi) to its destination. TBM Alice was released a month later, on 25 May 2020. TBM Joan began tunnelling again, this time towards Parkville, from Arden, on 25 May 2020. The release of TBM Meg towards Parkville meant that for the first time in the project, all four TBMs were tunnelling at

18765-399: Was not entirely successful in achieving these aims. The four tunnels of the Loop proved to be a capacity constraint on the ten main railway lines entering the CBD, and the peculiarities of operating four single-direction balloon loops meant that inner-city rapid transit was difficult for passengers. At the same time, the Loop consumed much of the available capital available for investment in

18904-440: Was proposed as one possible solution. At the same time the funding announcement was made, the MMRA announced it had appointed technical and planning advisors for the project. After the state Budget in May, details gradually emerged of the revised business case for the tunnel, including specific routes and tunnel options. The government ruled out an interchange to the existing railway station at South Yarra because of its expense,

19043-413: Was released. Professional transport planners have generally believed that it only considered direct financial cost in making its recommendations. It has also been criticised for not fully considering how building additional road capacity affects people's decisions about whether to use cars or public transport, inducing demand for even more major road construction, thereby negating any benefit from building

19182-452: Was the City Loop , which began construction in 1971 and opened gradually between 1981 and 1985. Among its aims were to reduce pressure on Flinders Street station by distributing passengers to three additional stations in the city centre ( Parliament , Melbourne Central , Flagstaff ), and to improve the capacity of the networks central core by eliminating the need for trains to change direction after terminating at Flinders Street. However, it

19321-505: Was to be renamed West Melbourne, but in early 2020 the government announced the existing station would not be renamed and the new station would revert to Arden, due to the potential for confusion and the need to relabel thousands of signalling assets. The public profile of tunnel works increased through the end of 2017, with Lord Mayor Robert Doyle complaining that the City of Melbourne's pest controllers were being overwhelmed by rats disturbed by underground works. A public viewing platform

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