FINAL STATION IN MELBOURNE'S METRO SYSTEM COMPLETE
15 Oct 2025
State Library Station has become the final underground station of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project, completing the biggest transformation of the city’s rail network in more than 40 years. The tunnel will open a year ahead of the original schedule, with initial trips beginning in December.
The artwork Forever at the station entrance is by Australian artist Danie Mellor.
The Metro Tunnel project will connect the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines via a new tunnel under the city to create a line from the north-west to the south-east, clearing up congestion on the City Loop.
Transport infrastructure minister Gabrielle Williams described the stations as “spectacular” with architecture that “will become an iconic part of Melbourne’s landscape”.
State Library Station is 42m below Swanston Street and is the deepest point of the $15.5-billion cross-city rail infrastructure development. The station includes platforms built to eventually accommodate 10-car trains. They are 220m long and 18m wide, making them among the widest underground metro platforms in the world.
The station’s main entrance incorporates 12 columns topped with 70-tonne, 18m beams, reflecting the classical architecture of the nearby State Library of Victoria, plus a 10m-high arched ceiling above the platforms with chandeliers, creating a cathedral-like atmosphere.
A shared concourse with the Melbourne Central Station allows underground transfers via passageways between Metro Tunnel and City Loop services without requiring passengers to tap off.
Four other stations as part of the Metro service have already been completed:
Arden Station at North Melbourne was completed in January of 2024 and will serve a new employment and innovation precinct planned for thousands of jobs and residential units. The station is on a former industrial site and features an arched brick entrance, skylights and platform screen doors to improve passenger safety. There are also bicycle parking spaces, drop-off zones and accessible carparks. The station facade features a major artwork by Australian artist Abdul Abdullah, Come Together.
Parkville Station, completed in May 2024, provides access to Melbourne’s health and education precinct, including major hospitals and the University of Melbourne. The station has a 54m-long steel-and-glass canopy over the concourse, and a new tram stop on Royal Parade. The artwork Vernal Glade in the station concourse is by renowned Australian artist Patricia Piccinini.
Anzac Station on St Kilda Road was the third to be completed, linking passengers to the growing employment and residential corridor, marking the first direct train connection to the St Kilda Road business district. It has been designed as a pavilion in the park with 85m by 21m skylights and sits next to a tram stop with extra-long platforms to fit four trams at once, which opened in 2022. This makes it Melbourne’s first direct tram-train interchange and is designed to take pressure off what is the world’s busiest tram corridor.
Town Hall Station, in the city centre, was also completed this month and connects to Flinders Street Station via the Degraves Street Subway, offering direct access to Federation Square and the arts district. Town Hall Station’s main concourse below City Square is a grand entrance hall with a roof supported by huge columns shaped like tree branches. Infrastructure improvements include widened pedestrian crossings at the Swanston and Collins streets intersection to accommodate increased foot traffic. Town Hall Station’s Federation Square entrance features artwork by Maree Clarke.
Services through the tunnel will operate every 20 minutes from early December. The government plans to introduce a comprehensive timetable in February, integrating more than 1000 new weekly services.
