Metro Tunnel Project
Overview
The Metro Tunnel Project in Melbourne comprises twin nine-kilometre tunnels and five underground stations at Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac.
By taking three of the busiest train lines (Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury) through a new tunnel under the city, the Metro Tunnel is untangling the City Loop so more trains can run more often across Melbourne.
It is transforming the way people move around Melbourne and improving access to key landmarks and destinations. As a result, room is being created on the network to enable more than half a million additional passengers per week to travel on the rail network during peak periods.
Strategic connections, including at Town Hall Station, State Library Station, Footscray Station in the north-west and Caulfield Station in the south-east, also allow passengers to transfer between rail lines, further enhancing the network’s connectivity.
Metro Tunnel was designed by international architectural practices Hassell, WW+P and RSHP.
Station Design
The station designs combine functionality, space and natural light, to ensure passengers can move through the stations and transfer between rail lines as easily and intuitively as possible.
Each station – Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac – draws on the local character of its location, featuring materials such as brick, glass, wood and bluestone, with new parks, open space and bicycle facilities at surface level.
As well as being gateways to a modern metro train system, the stations and their surrounds feature shopping, cafes, restaurants and art installations, thereby becoming destinations in their own right.
Arden
The new north Melbourne station is located in Arden which will become a new destination and community of Melbourne – a place to work, live and visit. The new station will trigger significant urban renewal, creating a vibrant residential, commercial and retail precinct on the edge of the CBD.
Arden will initially feature one entrance at the Laurens Street end of the structure, with provision made for further entrances as the area’s population grows. The station entrance with its bold, red brick arch reflects the area’s industrial heritage and will create a distinguished landmark for the new neighbourhood.
Parkville Station
Parkville Station has four entrances: one on Grattan Street adjacent to the University of Melbourne, one on the corner of Royal Parade and Grattan Street, one outside the VCCC and one directly next to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Parkville Station is located on the doorstep of Victoria’s world-renowned education, health and research district, visited by many thousands of students, patients, workers and other travellers every day.
The station’s glass feature roof provides passengers with a leafy tree-lined view of Grattan Street, and plenty of natural light filtering through to the station concourse.
State Library Station
State Library Station has two entrances – one at Franklin St and one at the corner of La Trobe and Swanston streets. It also has a direct underground connection for passengers to interchange with City Loop services at Melbourne Central Station.
State Library Station, at the northern end of Swanston Street, is located in a dynamic precinct with a strong education and retail presence. On completion, Literature Lane will be extended to connect La Trobe and Little La Trobe streets, creating opportunities at ground level for cafes and shops.
The station entrance facing onto Swanston St strongly echoes the scale of the State Library’s column-fronted portico.
Station platforms are some of the widest and most spacious in the world and framed by sweeping arches, thanks to the trinocular cavern design for the underground station.
Town Hall Station
Town Hall Station has three main entrances – one at City Square, one within a new building behind Young Jackson’s and one at Federation Square. It also has a direct underground connection for passengers to interchange with City Loop services at Flinders Street Station via the Degraves Street underpass and Campbell Arcade.
Town Hall Station connects a vibrant network of existing laneways at the southern end of Swanston St, creating new opportunities for retail consistent with Melbourne’s renowned laneway character.
In City Square, Town Hall Station’s canopy reflects the landmark buildings of St Paul’s, Melbourne Town Hall and the Manchester Unity Building, while complementing more modern architecture such as the Westin Hotel.
The Federation Square entry, developed in consultation with stakeholders, replaces the existing Visitor Centre and complements the surrounding buildings with a predominantly glass structure.
Anzac Station
Anzac Station features three main entrances: one on the edge of the Shrine Reserve, one in Albert Road Reserve and one leading directly to the train-tram interchange in the middle of St Kilda Rd to cater for the many thousands of passengers who will transfer every day.
Anzac Station has been designed to connect seamlessly with surrounding parklands by providing a pedestrian connection beneath St Kilda Rd.
The timber canopy provides weather protection as well as natural light at street level and into the spacious concourse below.
Skylights also provide natural light, connecting the station and concourse to the outdoors.
Concept
The architecture of the Metro Tunnel integrates a line-wide approach, founding enduring landmarks, distinctive and beautiful station interiors and buildings and their surrounds that Melburnians will embrace with pride for generations to come through:
Performance for people
Seamless, simple and intuitive stations and passenger journeys.
Context and Nature
Stations that are open to views, daylight and fresh air, reflecting and amplifying local character.
More Melbourne
More and better public spaces, enriched by new cultural and creative programs.
Sustainable and resilient
Ecologically conscious design of stations and precincts that are adaptable to climate change and minimise resource use.
Functional, efficient and safe
Reduced station footprints with increased passenger space and more efficient function.
A quality legacy
A benchmark for Melbourne’s “turn up and go” Metro system and the seed for further precinct development.
Design
The following 7 principles are a constant across all 5 stations and embodied in each:
1. Open Metro
A key design principle is the integration of natural light and fresh air, fostering a sense of openness and wellbeing for commuters, with glazed entries and expansive skylights flooding the concourses with daylight, forming bright and inviting spaces, which are connected to sky and to country.
2. Linewide Consistency
The stations are broadly split into two typologies: box and cavern stations, which despite their different construction methodologies integrate a line-wide approach, utilizing a series of consistently coloured ribs and baffles to form enduring, distinctive, and beautiful station interiors.
3. The celebration of civil and precision engineering
To celebrate the civil engineering, the concrete is exposed, underscoring the integrity of these majestic structures. To achieve the technical requirements, the minimum number of precision-engineered elements were installed - alongside specifically designed light fixtures - to provide rhythm and commensurate scale.
4. Modular Loose Fit
The line-wide modular brightly coloured ceiling structures, which through repetition produce higher quality for less cost, support all the station’s services and hold a vast array of devices. Designed along a ‘loose fit’ logic which is derived from an understanding and acceptance that future change can be more readily accommodated going forward without affecting the overall look and feel over its 100+ year lifespan.
5. ‘Transition’ – Drama
Although predominantly underground every effort has been made to retain the connection to daylight as long as possible, creating a sense of drama, a transition that occurs in either direction when leaving or entering. The entries themselves are individually expressed and consistently composed as forms emerging out of the ground rather than sat upon it.
6. Station Identity
Each station has a principal entrance which is individual and expressive and draws on the local character of its location, unique to themselves establishing a real sense of place and identity. The secondary entrances – portals – are consistent as a typology across the line, in effect bringing the underground experience to ground level.
7. Placemaking
As well as being gateways to a modern metro train system, the stations and their surrounds feature new parks, open space, retail, cafes, restaurants, and art installations, thereby becoming destinations in their own right. Metro Tunnel Melbourne represents a transformative investment in the city’s future, delivering not only essential transport infrastructure but also architectural landmarks and revitalised public spaces that will enrich the lives of Melburnians for decades to come.
Construction
The construction of the Metro Tunnel in Melbourne demonstrates a comprehensive approach to sustainable infrastructure, integrating low-carbon design, resource efficiency, climate resilience, enhanced biodiversity, and high-quality public spaces to create a more connected, liveable, and environmentally responsible city.
Energy Reduction
Energy-related carbon emissions are more than 40% lower due to energy efficient station and tunnel designs. Energy demand is reduced by maximising natural ventilation, optimising skylights, and lowering lighting and HVAC loads through efficient systems. Onsite renewable energy generation, including over 300 solar PV modules at Arden Station, and regenerative braking in vertical transport, further reduce operational energy use.
Low Maintenance Design
All stations optimise finishes with long design life to reduce material replacement and lifecycle impacts. Self-finished, hard-wearing materials with robust detailing and simplified forms minimise maintenance, while finishes in accessible areas are easy to clean or disguise wear.
Materials
Environmentally safe, low-VOC materials are used throughout to improve indoor air quality. Portland cement content is reduced by 51.6 % and timber is FSC-certified. Steel is sourced from ISO14001-accredited suppliers participating in climate action programmes, and all PVC meets Best Practice certification standards.
Light and Air
Natural daylight and fresh air have determined the architecture of the station entrance portals and concourses. Biomorphic lighting design provides an uplifting and comfortable ambience, whilst efficient LED lighting, with smart controls and variations in light and air movement, strengthens sensory connections to nature.
Water Usage
Potable water consumption is minimised through air-cooled cooling towers, high-efficiency fixtures, and rainwater harvesting from station entrance canopies. WSUD bio-filtration landscapes improve water quality, reduce flood risk, and support passive irrigation by increasing soil moisture.
Stormwater is harvested from the streets surrounding Town Hall, Parkville, and State Library Stations, treated, and then reused inside the stations to flush toilets and urinals. At Anzac and Arden Stations, rainwater falling on the stations roofs is harvested and reused inside the buildings. Water efficient toilets, urinals, and taps save over 3.5 million litres of water each year. Drought resistant and water sensitive plants that have been selected to thrive in a changing climate feature throughout the landscaped areas.
Transport
The stations enhance intermodal connectivity, such as the direct tram/train interchange at Anzac, which enables more people to use public transport and makes more places accessible. Key services are reachable within a 400-metre walking distance whilst end-of-trip facilities and integrated bicycle infrastructure encourage active and sustainable transport choices.
Urban Ecology and Vegetation
Native, indigenous, and heritage trees are reinstated to more than double the existing tree canopy coverage. Urban forest diversity is strengthened through multi-storey planting, high-performance tree pits, generous soil volumes, and passive irrigation systems.
Communities
The stations create new and improved public spaces for surrounding residents and workers. Its public realm design is place-specific, informed by local ecology and Indigenous culture, while prioritising walkability and cycling without increasing private parking.
Climate Resilience
Expanded canopy cover and increased green permeable surfaces provide shade and reduce the urban heat island effect. Flood resilience is enhanced through bio-retention landscapes, drought-tolerant native planting, elevated station entries, and large canopy structures that reduce thermal load.
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