In a first for Victoria, underground stations will have platform screen doors, installed as part of the State Government’s Metro Tunnel Project.
Doors have been installed at the future Parkville station and installation is already well underway at Arden and Anzac stations and set to begin shortly at State Library and Town Hall stations.
The toughened glass sliding doors will open and close in tandem with the fleet of Melbourne’s new High-Capacity Metro Trains – creating a barrier between the track and platforms to improve passengers’ safety by preventing people and objects from falling into the path of oncoming trains, and stopping trespassers entering the tunnels.
The doors are a hallmark of world-class metro rail systems, like those in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris. The new technology has been tested in a series of rigorous trials over several years, both in virtual development and at a test platform at the Pakenham East train depot.
Victorian Acting Premier and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Jacinta Allan, said, “Platform screen doors will keep passengers safe and services moving. They’re a hallmark of metro systems around the world – and soon they’ll be a part of Victoria’s rail network.”
60 doors will be fitted at each station, with 300 to be installed across the five new underground stations being built by the project – enough to stretch from Flinders Street Station to the MCG.
Work on the rest of the Metro Tunnel is continuing at pace – with crews currently working to finish 24 days of around-the-clock work to separate the Frankston Line from the Cranbourne/Pakenham Line at Caulfield Station.
The track upgrades will allow trains to run every two-to-three minutes when the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025 – a year ahead of schedule.
The Metro Tunnel’s stations are also quickly taking shape, with the fit-out of lifts, escalators, security systems, CCTV, passenger information displays and emergency phones underway as well as tracks being laid along the nine-kilometre twin tunnels.
Ms Allan said, “Work is continuing on the Metro Tunnel at pace – the project is taking shape now, with test trains set to run later this year before the project opens to passengers to transform transport in Melbourne in 2025.”
When finished, the Metro Tunnel will create capacity for more than half a million additional passengers per week to travel during peak times across Melbourne’s train network.
