All five of Melbourne’s underground Metro Tunnel stations have been built
Construction has been completed on Melbourne’s brand-new State Library Station, meaning all five underground Metro Tunnel stations are now finished.
The station will give commuters direct access to State Library, RMIT University and the Queen Victoria Market. It links straight to trams and is connected to Melbourne Central via a new underground concourse, so commuters can transfer without tapping off their Myki card.
The Victorian government says it is the deepest and most complex station ever built beneath the Melbourne CBD, sitting 42 metres below Swanston Street while being deeper than the height of Marvel Stadium.
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Crews used precision keyhole construction, lowering materials and machinery through shafts while keeping one of the city’s busiest streets moving above.
The station’s platforms are 18 metres wide, 220 metres long and 36 metres below street level. The platforms are among the widest underground metro platforms in the world.
The grand main entrance at La Trobe and Swanston streets is framed by 12 massive columns topped with 70-tonne, 18-metre beams lifted into place by a 400-tonne crane. A second entrance opens onto Franklin Street outside RMIT.
“Transferring between State Library and Melbourne Central is one small step for a commuter and one giant leap for Victoria,” Victorian premier Jacinta Allan says.
“The end of major construction means the start of a new era for Melbourne, where you can get to uni, work and retail faster and easier.”