In a significant milestone for the Metro Tunnel project, construction has finished on the first of the five new Metro Tunnel stations, due to open to passengers in 2025.
After six years of construction, the construction on Arden Station is complete. This project began with excavation, and since then, workers have:
- Dug out 330,000 tonnes of rock and soil
- Built the massive brick archway and facade
- Poured the concrete for the station platforms
- Laid lengths of steel rail through the tunnels
- Installed the escalators, lifts and the Victorian-first platform screen doors
In the first few weeks of January, crews worked on the finishing touches at Arden Station. Below ground they installed paving, seating and passenger information displays. Above ground, work took place on landscaping, paving, and installing signs, seating and bicycle hoops.
Work is continuing on the other four underground stations – Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac – with Parkville expected to be the next station to be finished.
Arden Station’s completion was brought forward so it could become a test case for the remaining stations. Over the coming months, the project team will test station systems to make sure they work together. This includes passenger information displays, platform screen doors and ventilation. They will troubleshoot issues and run software updates before rolling these systems out at the other stations.
Arden Station will become the centrepiece of a new bio-medical and health sciences precinct for North Melbourne, accommodating up to 34,000 jobs and around 20,000 people by 2051.
Featured image: Major construction at Arden Station is now complete. Image credit: Victoria’s Big Build.
