Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (09:54): The Metro Tunnel is now open a year ahead of schedule, and Victorians have embraced it in a way that speaks to what this project means for our state. I was on the first service from Sunbury to run through the tunnel, and you could hear and feel the excitement of everyone on board.

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Reset the clock.

Sheena WATT: The Metro Tunnel is now open a year ahead of schedule, and Victorians have embraced it in a way that speaks to what this project means for our state. I was on the first service from Sunbury to run through the tunnel, and you could hear and feel the excitement as everyone got on board. Every carriage on our train was filled with cheering, lines of gunzels called out every station as we arrived, and there was a real sense that people knew that they were witnessing a generational change in our public transport network. Five new stations now sit at the core of that change – Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac – and they will reshape how people move through our city. They are new, accessible and world-class. They make the network easy to use for students, workers, families and visitors. They connect communities in ways we have been talking about for years, but now we were finally seeing and experiencing the joy as we came into the stations and heard various different chants. I have got to say it was pretty special. Victorians have waited a long time for this moment – to be on the train, to go through the new tunnels, to step into those platforms and to see what has been built for the next generation. It is something that people will remember. This is a milestone for our state, and it will not be forgotten anytime soon, especially by me.