{"id":830537,"date":"2026-07-29T04:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/830537\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T04:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:53:25","slug":"suburban-rail-loop-ben-carrolls-decision-on-whether-to-proceed-with-big-build-project-under-pressure-due-to-tunnel-boring-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/830537\/","title":{"rendered":"Suburban Rail Loop: Ben Carroll\u2019s decision on whether to proceed with Big Build project under pressure due to tunnel boring schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 29, 2026 \u2014 11:53am<\/p>\n

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AAA<\/p>\n

Premier Ben Carroll has just weeks to decide the future of the Suburban Rail Loop, with tunnel boring machines scheduled to start by September in what would be a watershed moment for the project.<\/p>\n

\"BenBen Carroll addresses the media on Wednesday.Justin McManus<\/p>\n

Crews at Burwood are preparing for two tunnel boring machines, already in the ground and pointing towards Glen Waverley, to launch within four to six weeks, but are allowing for unexpected delays that could push that out to eight weeks.<\/p>\n

The tunnelling milestone is a thorny problem for the Coalition, who have committed to pause and review the project<\/a> if elected in November, but also provides a ticking clock for the new premier.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Transport<\/a><\/p>\n

Carroll has not made any immediate commitments about the loop\u2019s futur<\/a>e under his leadership, but he is an internal critic of the project and has flagged further announcements and consideration of the matter through a cabinet process.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, he left the door open to reviewing the project and was \u201cvery focused\u201d on delivering the stalled Melbourne Airport Rail Link.<\/p>\n

Asked about reports he would reconsider the SRL, a pet project of former Labor premiers Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan, Carroll said it was a matter for his new cabinet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to run a disciplined, proper cabinet process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But he went on to say he was not going to be a premier who broke contracts, when answering a question about whether Victoria should have proceeded with the Commonwealth Games, <\/a>currently taking place in Glasgow, Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to be a premier that doesn\u2019t break contracts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"JacintaJacinta Allan was committed to the Suburban Rail Loop, but whether Ben Carroll will be remains to be seen.Luis Enrique Ascui<\/p>\n

Daniel Andrews famously cancelled the Games<\/a> in 2023 and also ripped up a contract to build the East West Link road tunnel when he was first elected in 2014.<\/p>\n

The state government has already signed contracts worth more than $14 billion to build the rail tunnel through Melbourne\u2019s eastern suburbs.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Ben<\/a><\/p>\n

Carroll affirmed his support for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link<\/a>, which would include a new station in his electorate and had stalled under Allan\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knows there is not a stronger supporter for Airport Rail \u2026 than me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAirport Rail will electrify the north-west \u2013 it is a game changer, it\u2019s been talked about for a hundred years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd as premier, I\u2019m very focused on Airport Rail.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Age has spoken to three construction industry sources who confirmed tunnel boring machines for the Suburban Rail Loop were sitting underground at Burwood and on track to begin work in August or September.<\/p>\n

They are to tunnel towards Glen Waverley, with another two machines at the Burwood site to launch towards Box Hill next year. One of the machines is named Alice, after Melbourne musician Alice Ivy.<\/p>\n

The Box Hill to Glen Waverley tunnelling is being delivered by Terra Verde, a consortium of WeBuild, GS Engineering and Construction Australia and Bouygues Construction Australia.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Once the tunnel boring machines begin digging, it is almost impossible to extract them from the ground, and any cancellation of the project would probably involve them being buried.<\/p>\n

The massive machines can, however, be paused for periods.<\/p>\n

The government is also on the cusp of signing another multibillion-dollar contract for the loop \u2013 to deliver half the underground SRL East\u2019s six stations.<\/p>\n

Place, a consortium of John Holland, Kellogg Brown & Root and Arup, has been shortlisted to build the stations at Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Two other bidders on the shortlist \u2013 ESPA and Connexus \u2013 are in the race for Cheltenham, Clayton and Monash stations.<\/p>\n

Before Allan\u2019s resignation on Tuesday, a government spokesperson said cancelling the project would mean the machines remaining buried.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only plan Jess Wilson\u2019s Liberals have is to cut the Suburban Rail Loop \u2013 sacking thousands of workers, blocking more homes being built and leaving tunnel boring machines to sink into the ground,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman Evan Mulholland said the Coalition would \u201cpause and review the Cheltenham to Box Hill line as the only financially responsible pathway going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Carroll never had the ticker to stand up to Jacinta Allan on the Suburban Rail Loop; in fact he publicly supported it because he has been too weak,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Carroll is tied to this boondoggle of a project through his actions of failing to stand up for Victorians as Jacinta Allan\u2019s deputy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The four to eight-week deadline will be top of mind for Carroll as he considers whether to alter the project.<\/p>\n

The Age has previously reported that a policy reset<\/a>, which could include an adjustment to the loop, was flagged in early discussions about a potential spill in June, but that no concessions were ultimately agreed upon.<\/p>\n

This year, tunnel boring machines are also expected to launch from Clarinda towards Glen Waverley, part of work being delivered by a separate consortium named Suburban Connect.<\/p>\n

Further digging is scheduled for 2028, including a second Burwood launch towards Box Hill and a dig from Heatherton to Cheltenham.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Suburban Rail Loop Authority did not respond to questions about the timeline of the first launch, but confirmed that trucks ferrying soil from the site would be able to directly access the Burwood Highway.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, an investigation by The Age showed<\/a> how the Suburban Rail Loop is shifting away from its city-shaping purpose, with insiders dismayed that the project\u2019s ambitious urban development plans have been scaled back.<\/p>\n

The Age has also reported on a multibillion-dollar works package<\/a> focused on the connection points between the rail loop\u2019s new stations and existing Metro stations.<\/p>\n

More on Victoria\u2019s leadership spill<\/p>\n

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\"PatrickPatrick Hatch<\/a> is transport reporter at The Age and a former business reporter.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 29, 2026 \u2014 11:53am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-830537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}