This Just In: Victorian Premier Ben Carroll Scales Suburban Rail Loop Project Back by $2 Billion to Keep It on Time
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has cut $2 billion from the Suburban Rail Loop East project to keep it on time, scrapping station interchanges and precinct works as a review searches for a further $1 billion.
This just in: Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has announced $2 billion worth of cuts from the Suburban Rail Loop East project to keep it on time — scrapping underground station interchanges and scaling back precinct works across the line. Carroll announced the cuts at a press conference in Melbourne on Tuesday morning, confirming around $1 billion had already been locked in, with a further $1 billion to be found through an independent technical review of the project.
"I respect your money. The SRL will be built on time. Today's changes mean it will be built under budget," Carroll said in a press conference this morning, as reported by The ABC. "I respect every single dollar of taxpayers' money," he told reporters, adding he would "save every dollar" he could for Victorians.
The cuts target Suburban Rail Loop East, the first stage of the project connecting Cheltenham to Box Hill across six stations. The government will scrap underground interchanges at the Box Hill and Glen Waverley stations, find alternative parking arrangements at Glen Waverley, reduce Clayton station to a single entrance instead of two, and remove planned pedestrian bridges at Burwood and Cheltenham.
The Suburban Rail Loop Community Projects Fund will be wound up and precinct works around stations scaled back. The Suburban Rail Loop Authority will also be merged into the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority as part of the shake-up.
SRL East's budget had blown out to as much as $34.5 billion. Tuesday's cuts bring that down to $33.3 billion, with a target of roughly $32.3 billion once the independent review reports back. More than $14 billion in contracts on the project have already been signed, and tunnelling is due to begin next month.
Carroll became Victorian Premier in late July, succeeding Jacinta Allan, and has faced early pressure over the ballooning cost of the SRL East project.
Image: iStock
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