The offer was part of 鈥渁dditional payments鈥 offered to the tunnel鈥檚 Cross Yarra partnership construction consortium worth up to $888 million to ensure the tunnel opened in 2025.
The tunnel will augment the City Loop and relieve congestion on train travel through the city. Sunbury and Dandenong trains, which currently go through the City Loop, will be diverted to the Metro Tunnel, stopping at five stations 鈥 Anzac (opposite the Shrine of Remembrance), Town Hall, State Library, Parkville and Arden (in North Melbourne).
Labor frontbencher Steve Dimopoulos initially said on Saturday The Age鈥檚 report was wrong, before saying it was pre-emptive to say whether trains would run through the tunnel at peak times by the end of the year.
He said the project was actually 鈥渁 year early鈥, as then-premier Daniel Andrews announced in 2015 that it would be completed at the end of 2026.