Metro tunnel photos 2017-2025: disruptions, digging and those damned roadworks

Roadworks are a common sight around Melbourne.  Digging deep into the ground to make the new Metro underground train tunnels took the disruption to another level (literally).  It was fascinating to watch the progress though frustrating getting about as the landscape constantly changed.  I am sharing here some of my photos I took during the years 2017-2015 where Parkville and Town Hall Stations were work in progress.  (I have written about the opening of the tunnels on 30 November 2025.)

All photos are in chronological order except the top photo which is March 2023 and shows a heritage-style sign in Flinders Street promoting the new Town Hall Station boasting about its many entrances and other features.
 

April 2017 - The City Square at the Corner of Swanston and Collins Street was closed for construction work on what is now the Town Hall station.  Above is the plinth of the Burke and Wills statue of the famed (and failed) "explorers".  At the time the statue was removed but the plinth was about to be. This statue has not returned to the re-opened City Square.  You can read more about history of this space at Wikipedia's entry on the City Square, Melbourne.
 

January 2018 - When we next visited City Square, it had become a building site with a barrier up around it.  I loved that the design on the barrier made the wall look like the doors to a metro train. 

 

January 2018 - This was the view through the faux-train windows in the City Square.  There was a lot of digging going on!

 

Apriil 2018 - Meanwhile in South Carlton, machinery was digging up the ground and there was a huge scar in University Square on the south side of Grattan Street.

 

April 2018 - also in South Carlton, Grattan Street was blocked off to traffic so they could dig up the road because the station and train tunnel was to run under it.  (If you have ever watched Peppa Pig you will know what I mean when I say that I could hear the voice in my head saying "Mr Bull is digging up the road!")

Grattan Street was blocked to cars for year, which made a huge difference to crossing to the other side of the University of Melbourne.  Crossing by foot or on my bike was an ongoing challenge with the path across the street constantly changing.  Even driving around the streets off this part of South Carlton was an ever shifting maze.

 

April 2018 - The view from Grattan Street towards the Royal Parade intersection where most of the station exits come out.  In the right is the University of Melbourne Medical Building which now has one of the Parkville station exit canopies on this side  In the photo you can see that the ground was being dug up as part of the Metro Tunnel work.

February 2021 - I find this photo amusing: it says "welcome to the new Parkville Station" almost 5 years before the station opened.   It still looks like a building site.  The sign is either a joke or extremely optimist! 

February 2021 - This is the view of the roadworks on Grattan Street behind the welcome to the new Parkville Station".

Feb 2021 - Possibly it was on the same ride that I took this photo of the hoardings in front of the State Library station site.  By now we were in the midst of Covid lockdowns and a lot of change was going on in the CBD unseen by most Melbournians.

 

April 2021 - The City Square building site was built up so high by now that impeded the views of the Town Hall on one end and St Paul's Cathedral on the other.  I was sad.  It was also both sad and inspiring to see the stories on the hoardings.  

It was a photo exhibition called Surge by Phoebe Powell & Kate Disher-Quill about the health care professionals.  You can see more photos of the exhibition on my blog post about Street Art in Melbourne's CBD in 2021.

January 2023 -  The above photo is from the Doherty Institute building looking towards the Royal Melbourne Hospital across the Grattan Street and Royal Parade intersection.  Not only was Grattan Street closed to traffic but the barriers to road works in this intersection were also constantly changing.

April 2023 - more hoardings.  This series were about heroes and this particular one has Prof Frances Separavic, Deputy Director Bio 21 Institute and Pioneer Researcher in Membranes and Proteins.  

It constantly shocks me that she was the first female professor of chemistry appointed at the University of Melbourne and in the state in 2005.  This is shocking compared to the first Australian male professor of chemistry, John Smith, who was appointed in 1852 at the University of Sydney!

 

Sept 2023 - The digging up the road was continuing over 5 years since it had started.  This photo was taken through the wire grill fence that kept the public away from all the machinery.  The Medical Building is in the background.

 

April 2024 - more roadwork on the Grattan Street near the Royal Parade intersection. (Medical Building on the right hand side.)

Around this time, the media loved reporting on electromagnetic waves affecting medical equipment, budget blowouts and delays to the opening. 

 

April 2024 - Despite the delays and feeling that the construction site had been there forever, the signs of the Parkville Station (no pun intended) at tthe Grattan Street and Royal Parade intersection were beginning to be seen above ground.

 May 2024 - I wen to an Open House Melbourne talk on "Rail as civic infrastructure" at RMIT's Storey Hall.  It was quite interesting to hear about plans for Melbourne's new metro rail stations and how architecture could add value to Melbourne with new community spaces, as well as improved public transport infrastructure.

Oct 2024 - I took this photo when, to my surprise, Grattan St between Royal Parade and Swanston St was open again after being closed by the Metro Tunnel construction for years.  It was so odd to be able to ride my bike along Grattan Street with cars travelling alongside me and no roadworks clogging up the road.

September 2025 - The opening of the new stations was getting close but there was still quite a bit of hoardings about the city.  I liked this bright and colourful one by Alice Oehr, called Summer Feasting.  It referred to eating out with family and friends on warn summer evenings, like a reminder to the people of Melbourne to come to the CBD and enjoy all the city's wonderful foodie offerings.

30 November 2025 exhibition.  Despite witnessing a lot of the changing landscapes in Melbourne during 2017-2025, the general public like myself only saw what was happening on the surface.  There is an exhibition in Campbell Arcade of photos of the metro tunnel works that include the hidden works such as archeological digs, smoking ceremonies by First Nations elders, and underground views inside the new train tunnels.  

Below are some of the images in this display in case you are not close to enough to walk through the arcade.  If you are in the city, I highly recommend going to Campbell arcade between Flinders St Station and Degraves Street.

 

30 November 2025 - Finally the excitement of the grand opening.  (For more about this, you can read my post about the new stations along the Metro Tunnel).  The work is not quite all done as there are some finishing touches such as opening all the exits from the Town Hall Station and setting up shops and information stations.  Public Transport in Melbourne is continually evolving but rarely does it have such a huge change as this one.

Metro tunnel opening, Melbourne, 30 November 2025

The opening of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel on 30 November 2025 heralded many changes in the centre of the city.  It was fun to ride the new train line on the first day and am finally sharing some photos.  There were crowds, bands, street performers, photo opportunities, everything felt shiny new and there were new confusing long connecting tunnels to walk.  

I was not among the early enthusiastic crowds.  My plans of brunch and trains were scuppered by the rain.  But I was there on this momentous day.  When the first 3 underground stations in Melbourne - the City Loop - was opened 40 years before I was a kid in the country and excited at the idea of travelling in the dark on a train.  It was a disappointment when I finally travelled on the loop to have the lights on the whole time.  This time I didn't get my hopes so high but it was great to share in the exhilaration at opening 5 new underground stations with the crowds.  And did I mention that public transport was free!

The above photo is more exciting than it looks.  I had always loved the view of St Paul's Cathedral until the Metro Tunnel works covered it up.  Now we have the view of our cathedral back as well as a fine new station entrance in the City Square (bottom left of photo).

State Library Station

The State Library station was my first stop because it is connected to the Melbourne Central (formerly Museum) station where my train arrived from home.  The two new CBD stations (Town Hall Station is at the other end of Swanston Street) have tunnels connecting to City Loop stations and have many exits.  The State Library station is convenient to RMIT university, the Queen Vic Market, Melbourne Central shopping centre, Queen Vic shopping centre, Emporium shopping centre and, of course, the State Library.

At the corner of Latrobe and Swanston Streets on the side of the station is an amazing large-scale artwork (Forever by Danie Mellor) based on historic images of Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung women from the State Library’s archives.  This is a reminder that the station is built on First Nations land.  I was impressed to see this a couple of months before the opening.
 

 

On the day of the opening I went straight from underground at the Melbourne Central station through the tunnel to the State Library station without going above ground.  It was quite exciting to reach the point where the stations connected.  Musicians played celebratory music and a performer (not in photo) was hula hooping.

Once I was in the State Library Station, I took the escalators to travel further underground.  It was quite aa shock to see the huge crowds coming in the opposite direction.  I asked a Metro worker about it and was told that there had been a day that created a backlog of commuters.

The orange archways that soared high above the State Library platform brought to mind a cathedral to technology.  They inspired awe in the architectural skill and creativity.

 

I had to ask where the platform was because I could not see the train tracks where it would stop.  Then I found that the doors only opened when the train arrived so we could step directly onto the train.  I had never seen this in Australia.  The digital display above the doors even showed how full each carriage was. It all seemed very high tech compared to our other train stations.  Though I did miss seeing the light of the train coming down the track. 

ANZAC station 

Anzac Station is the only station east of the Yarra River.  Its green columns and timber canopies are intended to reflect the green heart of the city around the nearby Royal Botanic Gardens and Shrine of Remembrance, with a slightly longer walk to the grassy expanses of Kings Domain, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and Albert Park.
 

The station is in the middle of the St Kilda Road which is one of the grand boulevards of Melbourne, albeit a boulevard of modern office buildings these days.  Its large canopy along the major tram interchange brings a new iconic building to this busy city thoroughfare.  It's long canopy is called a 'timber potato chip' by the Age Newspaper.

Underground it was not so impressive with the platform dominated by large low orange lights (similar to Parkville and Arden) but the colourful abstract mural (Future Wall Painting by Raafat Ishtak) on the concourse caught my eye.  It can be seen in the above photo.  I rushed to exit the station and back onto the next train; they were only coming every 20 minutes.  If you look at the Community Art page on the Big Build website you can see other artworks at ANZAC station that I will look out for next time.

Parkville Station 

 

The Parkville station is in the university and hospital precinct.  Three station exits surround the intersection of Grattan Street and Royal Parade (with a fourth up Grattan St near the university).  On the four corners are the towering buildings of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne Medical Building, the Doherty Institute for Infectious and Immunity and the Peter MaCallum Cancer Centre.  Nearby is also the Royal Women's Hospital, the Royal Children's Hospital, the CSL biotech company and more.  There is a lot of medical research and clinical talent in this area.

Now there are these new icons on the corners signs of the new hidden depths of this intersection.  When I went to the opening of the new stations I barely stepped out of the train to look at the station and got back in again.  This was because I had taken a sneak preview a few days before to see the concourse.  That is when I took the photos.

The starring artwork here is Patricia Piccinini’s Vernal Glade.  She has drawn on biophilic design (aka a design to connect us to nature) to create the tiles to be calming and reflect the greens of the Australian bush and the reds and yellows of native flowers.  It is so amazing to have a work by Piccinini.  She is a giant of the Australian art scene and recognised for her talent internationally.  (For more about her, check out my post on her Rising Festival exhibition in 2021 that showcased her vision and imagination.)

At the exit to Grattan Street was the most magnificent sight.  Patricia Piccinini's calming tiles were on one side, the giant lights by the barriers on the other side, and the escalator in the middle under the glass canopy skylight with the light rippling on the moving metallic stairs.  It was so shiny new, so quiet and so beautiful.  I know it wont last but it was so wonderful to see the new station in this pristine condition.

Arden Station 

Arden stations’s impressive arched brick tunnel is houses in a shiny building with the large friendly hands of Abdul Abdullah's artwork titled Come Together.  The arches are intended to reference North Melbourne’s industrial heritage.  The artwork is a tribute to the community spirit, not just of industry but also of the North Melbourne AFL club that used to call home the Arden St Oval just up the road.

The arch has 100,000 Victorian hand laid bricks.  It is also described as a 'whispering wall' where you can speak into the bricks on one side and you can be heard clearly on the other.  I must return and try this.  It was busy and noisy and friendly on the opening day.  I missed the crowds fun and freebies at other stations because I was late but I was glad to join some bonhomie at Arden.  There were lots of official people in blue with big blue hands and blue rings with 'First to ride Metro Tunnel' written on them.

That platform had the large orange lights that were also at the Parkville and ANZAC.  I was slow to leave as I took it all in.  I had plenty of time before the next train took me back to the CBD.  So by the time I left, the platform was all but deserted.  I went up to look at the tunnel and all the new signage.

By the time the next southbound train arrived, the platform was packed with crowds.  The trains were all busy but this one was the busiest.  Everyone was crammed into the train to give us a taste of that peak hour feeling.

Town Hall Station 

 

My last metro station of the day was the Town Hall.  It is in the heart of the city, with the main entrance at the Town Hall end of the City Square.  You can see the canopy in the photo at the top of the post.  Above you can see how the entrance has a wonderful view of St Paul's Cathedral that gets better as you travel down the escalators.

I was so disoriented at a new station that I didn't come out the main entrance.  I didn't know that it was there.  I didn't know that the construction was still underway on the exits to Swanston St near Young and Jacksons pub and Federation Square.  I followed the crowd and found myself in Campbell Arcade which links runs under Flinders Street between Flinders St Station and Degraves Street.  

I stopped in the arcade to look at the photos and admire how much the arcade has been cleaned up.  Then I headed up the steps to Degraves Street where I enjoyed browsing the shops.  I realised I was hungry after all that train travel and bought an excellent dubai chocolate cookie.

I walked along Collins Street to the main entrance.  It fascinated me to see all the new signage in the streets and how the new stations are changing the landscape of inner Melbourne.

There is a little irony that this build was started in 2017 before the Covid pandemic escalated the move to more working from home.  These days there are less people travelling to the city but as the city grows I am sure we will welcome better public transport infrastructure.

I checked out the recently revealed City Square - which is not overly impressive other than the fine new metro canopy - and headed down the main entrance to the trains.  Inside the entrance, it is quite starkly grey and concrete.  A couple of performers on stilts dressed as insects were just finishing up.  It is a large space and would need to a lot of people to make it feel crowded.

I did not see anything in the way of artwork in Town Hall Station.  According to the website, we can see a 45 metre long installation by Indigenous artist, Maree Clarke’s called Barerarerungar at the Federation entrance when it is open.  

One of the information staff in blue gave me a metro tunnel lollypop.  I wasn't interested in eating it but I did take a photo on the platform with the orange cathedral-like arches.  There were lots of friendly staff about at all the stations who were very willing to help people find their way on their time in the space.

I walked through the platform and around the tunnels to Flinders Street Station where I got my train home.  You can see the much older historic platform in the below photo.  But even these platforms that I have stood on so often seemed transformed by the new blue sign directing us to the connection to the Town Hall that opens up more possibilities in the future.

Despite my train line not going through the new tunnels, I am told that diverting some of the trains out of the loop will mean that our trains will run more often, which would be great.  In February the trains in the metro tunnel have increased their frequency and there is still more to be done.  As well as more Town Hall exits opening, these stations will all develop over time as shops open and maybe there will be more artwork and posters.  

I am so glad that the stations have opened and will make a difference to Melbourne's public transport after years of upheaval around the city streets.  I have photos of some of the roadwork and will share some in another post. 

By the time I went home I was really tired.  All those elevators, tunnels, long platforms and crowds.  I spent a lot more time backtracking than usual because I was not clear on the layout.  I was really grateful to have the opportunity to join in some of the joy of the new stations opening and see them when they are so newly clean without the day to day scuffs that build up over time.  I look forward to seeing it become part of Melbourne.

Ballards, Thornbury: vegetable-centred vegan restaurant

When Sylvia asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted an experience.  She organised a dinner for us at Ballards in Thornbury.  This restaurant is my sort of vegan food: vegetables take centre stage, cooked beautifully with lots of nut and seed creams, creative flourishes and no mock meat in sight!  We had a fantastic dinner on a fine summer evening.  

We wanted to book an inside table but there were none left because we chose a busy evening the day before Valentines Day.  Inside the walls are painted a deep burgundy red with lots of artsy framed pictures like you might expect in a heritage European cafe.  The candles on the tables add to the charming vibe.

There is a large bar inside with lots of books, plants and of course bottles of booze.  And there are a few booths include one at the back that is quite private.

Our booking was for the beer garden out the back that is reached down this little lane.  I love the greenery in the middle of the space that breaks it up into smaller cosy corners.  It was very pleasant on a balmy summer's evening. down a little lane

The menu is a tyranny of choice so we ordered the Just feed me menu.  For $68 per person we were served the chef's selection of 9 amazing small dishes including dessert.  While there were still a few dishes we would have loved to have tried, such as the green olive arancini and layered potato lasagna, we got to try most of the dishes we were interested in and a few that I would not not have tried but was glad I did.  The staff were also open to requests when Sylvia asked if it could include the foccacia.  In addition to everything being vegan, there were lots of gluten free options.

We started with a glass each of non-alcoholic sangria.  A refreshing fruity drink was just what we needed on a summer's evening.  It looked fancy with the ruby red colour, orange slices and ice blocks.

Soon after, our first three dishes were served (see the top photo) as starters.

Sylvia had heard great things about the foccacia with burnt eggplant dip with surprise pickles & smoked tomato oil.  It was every bit as good and more.  The dip was so light and creamy, the bread so soft and had a wonderful sourdough flavour with some toasted fennel seeds and it all was tied together nicely with the pickled onions, cucumbers and smoky oil.

The mac and & cheese croquettes with sunflower seed toum & sweet gherkin leather were delicious.  So crunchy on the outside and the toum gave a creamy boost to the macaroni filling.

 

Most unusual was the cryptically named Pedro ximenez parfait crisps w cured mushrooms, relish, seed cracker.  Pedro Ximenez is a sherry which infused the creamy mushroom paste on the crisp seed cracker.  Topping the paste were cured mushrooms and a sweet relish which contrasted beautifully with the intense mushroom flavour.

 

Our second round of dishes arrived with lots of vegetables: You can see here how huge that eggplant is and the beautiful presentation.

The Heirloom tomato salad with apple, almonds, lovage & sunflower cream was nice, in spite of my wariness of salads featuring tomatoes.  I liked the creaminess and crunch, especially as a companion dish to the potato hash and roast eggplant.
 

The Potato hash with charred broccolini, smoked habanero oil & cannellini was excellent.  The potato hash did not dominate this meal but was all the better for the lovely greens and so much extra toppings.  It was a bit spicy but delicious.

The final of the trio was amazing: Roast eggplant tahini, chickpea, smoked corn & grape molasses.  Eggplant and tahini are such a wonderful combination, especially when the eggplant is cooked so beautifully that it falls apart at the glance of a fork.  The crunchy chickpeas and fresh vegies were great on top of the soft eggplant.

The final savoury dishes were a combination of two dishes, neither of which would have appealed to me but were a wonderful main course.  The Lions mane steak was served in intense dark seared chunks of that odd mushroom that looks like a giant puffball. They came on a bed of braised quinoa with a generous peppercorn sauce and topped with shards of crisp potato.  It was excellent.

The side salad was a Heirloom lettuce w cured sugar melon, sesame & curry leaf vinaigrette.  I could not would not eat this salad but itself.  I am not familiar with sugar melon (but apparently it is cantaloupe that I have always really disliked) nor curing fruit and vegetables.  But I really liked the dressed and fresh lettuce and melon when paired with the intense flavours of the lions mane steak.

Our last dish was the dessert of Elderflower & cashew pannacotta with fresh berry, charcoal meringue & basil.  Again I was surprised at how much I liked this, given that creamy desserts like pannacotta aren't usually my thing.  Perhaps it was that it was made of cashews (I much prefer a cashew sauce to a dairy cream) and the tart dots of fruit gel (was this the elderflower) as well as lots of berries.  The charcoal meringue was a bit gritty as charcoal can be but a nice contrast.  It was a slpendid way to end a wonderful meal.

I would highly recommend Ballards if you are vegans or even if you're not.  The delicious food kept coming, we were not rushed and yet we finished bang on the dot of the 90 minutes we had booked and left with full stomachs and happy taste buds.

Ballards
915 High Street, Thornbury
Open: Monday to Saturday: 6pm - late
https://carrot-jellyfish-7mgz.squarespace.com/