Metro Tunnel Opening Date Announced

The Metro Tunnel will open to passengers on 30 November, marking the first time Melbourne’s new underground rail line and its five stations will operate for the public.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined Premier Jacinta Allan at State Library Station on 16 November to confirm the opening date.

For Wyndham commuters, the project is expected to relieve pressure across the western network once the full timetable changes arrive in 2026.

By shifting the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines into the tunnel, more capacity will open for the Werribee Line — particularly during the morning and afternoon peaks, when services are currently at their limits.

Travel times into the CBD are not expected to dramatically change for Werribee passengers, but the reduced congestion on the overall network is forecast to allow more services to be added next year.

The 30 November launch forms part of a Summer Start program that introduces 240 additional weekly services running between West Footscray and Westall.

The new stations — Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac — will operate with limited frequency until the full network overhaul begins in February 2026.

However, the government’s suggestion that the opening is occurring “one year early” does not align with the project’s original timeline.

Documents from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office show the Metro Tunnel was initially scheduled to begin passenger services in September 2024 before delays and cost overruns pushed the expected completion into late 2025.

On that basis, a 30 November 2025 opening sits well behind the project’s first target, not ahead of it.

The major network shift — known as the Big Switch — will occur on 1 February 2026, when more than 1,000 new weekly services begin and high-frequency trains run every 3–4 minutes through the tunnel during peak times.