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A new £6.5 billion railway is set to revolutionise one of Australia's most popular cities with five brand new stations and a tunnel that will connect nearly 100km of track. It's hoped the huge project could completely transform the Australian city when it opens at the end of the year, 12 months ahead of schedule.

Contractors have been working since 2015 on the major metro project, which has been dubbed the biggest overhaul of Melbourne's transport network since the City Loop opened in the 1980s. A 9km twin rail Metro Tunnel and five new underground stations will connect three rail lines in the major city to form a single 97km train line.

The Sunbury line in the west of the city will be connected to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in the south-east, which is hoped to free up capacity on the City Loop.

Ben Ryan, the Metro Tunnel's executive project director, said the Sydney Metro has been a "real gamechanger", and this Melbourne project will be the same.

He added: "When you see the spaces here, the difference that will make to people's commutes and how it modernises our rail network, it will make a really big difference to Melbourne and Victoria," reports The Guardian.

The entire public transport timetable is being rewritten for the launch, including trains, trams and buses, and passengers will simply be able to 'turn up and go' without having to check timetables with frequent services.

The trains will be able to transport about 1,400 passengers across seven carriages, and high-capacity signalling in the tunnels will allow them to automatically keep pace and safely run closer together at speeds of up to 80km/h.

Serious thought has gone into the design, including the tracks, which have been laser cut with 30 animal footprints as a nod to the five Kulin nation clans of central Victoria.

The five stations will be named Anzac, Parkville, Arden, Town Hall and State Liberty, with the latter sitting 37 metres below the ground.

First proposed in 2008 as a 17km rail link from Footscray to Caulfield, the project was brought back to the drawing board many times. However, works began in 2015, tunnelling started in 2019, and it was penned to open in 2024.

Construction was halted when contractors sought an extra $3billion, ballooning the original budget of A$11billion (£5.31 billion) to nearly A$14billion (£6.51 billion), causing backlash over costs.

It pushed the finish date to 2026, but now, the project is running a year ahead of schedule and is set to open by the end of 2025.

It comes as the Victoria state budget faces forecast debts of $167.6billion this financial year, as reported in the 2025-2026 budget.

Speaking about the project, acting transport infrastructure minister, Sonya Kilkenny, said: "The Liberals called the Metro Tunnel a 'hoax' and the Liberals in Canberra ripped billions out of this city-shaping project - but we are getting on delivering it and it will open this year, one year ahead of schedule."