An archival photograph of workers at a construction site for the underground Flagstaff Station on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
An archival photograph of men laying rebar at a construction site for the Museum Station (later renamed Melbourne Central Station) on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
An archival photograph of workers at a construction site for the Museum Station (later renamed Melbourne Central Station) on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
An archival photograph of a worker on a recently installed escalator inside the Museum Station (later renamed Melbourne Central Station) on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
An archival photograph of recently installed escalators at Museum Station (later to be known as Melbourne Central Station) on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
An archival photograph of a worker putting the finishing touches to a row of screens at the Museum Station (later to be known as Melbourne Central Station) on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
An archival photograph of commuters using an escalator at the Museum Station (later to be known as Melbourne Central Station) on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
An archival photograph of the inside of the Museum Station (later to be known as Melbourne Central Station) on the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which came into full service in 1985.
- The Melbourne Underground Rail Loop (MURL) was heavily criticised when the project was proposed by the state government of the time
- Construction went ahead anyway, and the benefits the rail line brought to the city when it eventually came into service were significant
- Known as the City Loop, it comprises a viaduct, four tunnels and three stations encircle the city centre
- The project was an opportunity to bring the latest engineering innovations to Australia, including the New Austrian Tunnelling Method
- Rail lines encircling city centres can be found in many parts of the world, including Cityringen in Copenhagen and the Grand Paris Express in the French capital
The idea of trains running below the streets of Melbourne was first conceived more than a century ago.
In fact, the first proposal came out in 1929.
And despite subsequent decades of study and debate, opposition to an underground rail service remained strong up until ground was broken in 1971 to mark the start of the project: the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop (MURL).
One newspaper that was a vocal opponent of the project, had declared the project a “folly” in a blunt headline, quoting critics saying the growing popularity of cars was reducing the attraction of public transport.
It was the latest in a series of attacks against what had become a flagship project for the Victoria state government. In 1968, for example, the newspaper quoted academics dismissing the government’s assumption that the number of people working in the city would increase by 40 percent by 1985. It is a trend that, if true, would justify the MURL’s construction. But they did not believe it.
Influence on Melbourne
Construction went ahead anyway, and the project, which would come to be known as the City Loop, proved to be not only a success but a major contributor to the development of the city centre, known as the Central Business District, or CBD. It significantly improved the capacity of the commuter rail system to handle the growing number of commuters travelling between the city and the suburbs. By easing congestion at Melbourne’s two train stations – Flinders and Spencer (later to be renamed Southern Cross) – it actually encouraged people to leave their cars at home and take the train to work.
By providing access to the northern parts of the city, it spurred development in residential and commercial buildings. Easier access to the city brought new life to its streets with more jobs, shopping, and entertainment on offer.
“There’s no doubting its influence on Melbourne,” an engineering consultant told another newspaper in an 1988 article about the changes the MURL had brought to urban life.
Since the City Loop went into full service in 1985, the city has grown beyond even the most optimistic projections made at the time of its conception, with its population exceeding five million. Subsequent transport projects have – and are – meeting their fair share of opposition, but the imperative to provide the necessary infrastructure to serve a city of this size remains. And this imperative becomes more poignant when considering the city’s future trajectory.
Viaduct, tunnels and stations
The City Loop consists of a 722-metre-long two-track viaduct on the southern and western ends of the city centre that connects the Flinders and Southern Cross stations. It then goes underground with four single-track tunnels running for a total of 13 kilometres along the northern and eastern ends of the CBD. The tunnels pass through three underground stations before reconnecting to Flinders, closing the loop
A significant portion of the excavation of the tunnels and the lining of their walls – 11 kilometres of the total – and the setting of the tracks and reinforced concrete sleepers throughout were done by Webuild predecessor, Cogefar, and partner Codelfa.
Construction of two of the three new stations – Museum and Flagstaff – were also their responsibility. Museum would later change its name to Melbourne Central.
Their work on the project lasted from 1975 to 1981, a few years before the City Loop came into full service.
The idea of a rail line encircling a city centre has been applied throughout the world many times over – even in recent years, and in some cases with Webuild’s involvement. The Italian civil engineering group was responsible for Cityringen, a metro line that surrounds the historic centre of Copenhagen. Opened in 2019, the circular line comprises two 17.4-kilometre tunnels and 17 stations. In May 2024, Webuild and its joint-venture partners won another major contract to build part of the Grand Paris Express, a rail line network that will encircle the French capital. Lot 2 of the western section of Line 15 includes the design and construction of four underground stations, about seven kilometres of tunnels and other structures.
New engineering techniques
At the time of the City Loop’s construction, a number of engineering techniques were employed for the first time in the country.
Melbourne witnessed the first use of a road-header for excavation in the field of civil engineering construction. It avoided the risk posed by the alternative – underground blasting – which would have disturbed the integrity of the rock and create excessive noise and vibration, as well as damage to historic buildings at street level.
There was the first use of shaft raise-boring for a large civil engineering project, and the first systematic use of shotcrete for ground control at the cutting head of a tunnel-boring machine.
Then there was the earliest known application of several New Austrian Tunnelling Method techniques, which led to the use of rockbolts and shotcrete to support tunnel walls.
Of the total, 10 kilometres were done by mechanised excavation, and the remaining three kilometres by cut and cover.
