Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Eden FOSTER (Mulgrave) (13:34): I would like today to give a shout-out to the Waverley Model Railway Club and their enthusiasm for all things trains, including the Metro Tunnel. Recently the member for Glen Waverley and I took the railway club on a tour of one of the Metro Tunnel’s new stations, Arden station in North Melbourne. The Waverley Model Railway Club represent one of the largest and most enthusiastic model rail communities in our state, and so they were keen to get a behind-the-scenes tour of Arden station, with its modern engineering and its striking entrance defined by brick archways, which required over 100,000 locally manufactured bricks to complete it. The whispering gallery effect had us all intrigued. I hear you asking: what is the whispering gallery effect? It is where two people can whisper to each other from diagonally opposite corners and hear each other clearly, much like that at Grand Central station in New York.

The Metro Tunnel and its new stations, including Arden, represent a massive leap forward for Victoria’s future, delivering more services and better connections for our growing state. And like me and the Mulgrave community, the members of the Waverley Model Railway Club are excited for the opening of the Metro Tunnel early next month. Just a shout-out to some of those that attended: Alex Shilton, the president, young Archie and his grandmother Julie, Andrew, Greg, Glen, Bob, Jeff, Darryl and Chris.