Friday, 14 November 2025

 Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (10:37): I want to thank my community for their patience during the recent disruption to the Hurstbridge line while the train tunnel under Grimshaw Street is lengthened to be Melbourne’s third-longest in order to accommodate the building of the North East Link. Having express buses to the city has been important, but there is no doubt it has been challenging for those who needed to take short trips along the train line when their journeys took longer than expected and normal. This is a project which will reduce travel times by up to 35 minutes. It will take thousands of trucks off local roads and improve traffic flow on key routes like the Eastern Freeway and the M80 ring-road. Travel times will also reduce in our area.