At the time, it urged the government to develop “exit strategies” from the plan if it could not be delivered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But in a report released on Wednesday, Infrastructure Australia said the train link was now a national priority deserving of immediate investment.<\/p>\n
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The plan for Melbourne’s multi-billion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop.\u00a0 (Supplied: Infrastructure Victoria)<\/p>\n
“The first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) is identified as an immediate priority for delivery investment to support a rail connection between Cheltenham and Box Hill,” the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This will reduce travel times, facilitate new housing and connect major employment, health, education and retail areas in Melbourne’s east and south-eastern suburbs.”<\/p>\n
The report also flagged future stages of the SRL including the SRL North and West which incorporated the Melbourne Airport Rail Link<\/a>, as a “future investment opportunity in the 5-10 year pipeline”.\u00a0<\/p>\n The SRL is Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s signature project and is the most expensive in the state’s history with a price tag of $34 billion for its first stage<\/a>.<\/p>\n The government plans for trains to start running on the Suburban Rail Loop by 2035. (Supplied: Victoria’s Big Build)<\/p>\n Infrastructure Australia chief executive officer Adam Copp said further information had been provided that met the issues raised in the body’s earlier report.<\/p>\n “We have assessed and provided some feedback on [the SRL project],” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.<\/p>\n “But we do see the connections around Melbourne’s outer suburbs are a really important way to spread the population of Melbourne going forward and make sure people can move around more effectively.”<\/p>\n Mr Copp said the report provided an “investment blue print” that identified the highest priority proposals to address critical infrastructure gaps.<\/p>\n “The productivity of our economy and livability of our cities is all hinged on investing on the right infrastructure at the right time but unfortunately we can’t build everything everywhere all at once,” he said.<\/p>\n “We need to have a very clear blue print and priority list that allows tax payers to get the best bang for buck.”<\/p>\n Additional funding not yet announced<\/p>\n The state has said it would foot the bill for a third of the project, while another third would come from local taxes known as value capture<\/a>.<\/p>\n The government has hoped the Commonwealth would contribute the remainder but to date it has only provided $2.2 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even before getting all the funding needed, the state government has signed contracts worth $14.4 billion.<\/p>\n Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the government would provide further funding for the project in the upcoming budget.<\/p>\n “As with all infrastructure projects, the federal government assesses joint funding proposals from state and territory governments through our usual budget processes,” she said.<\/p>\n “States are then responsible for the planning, design and delivery of these jointly funded projects.<\/p>\n “As announced by the prime minister in November, the [federal] government will be making further investment through the upcoming budget.”<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/295f75ea6d7f68c422b7bfdbbbb29f25.jpeg\")
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