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MELBOURNE — With the opening of Melbourne\’s $13.5 billion Metro Tunnel just days away, Premier Jacinta Allan today confirmed the massive infrastructure project has been fully accredited and is \”completely safe\” to begin taking passengers this Sunday (November 30).
Speaking from the new Parkville Station, the Premier pushed back against severe safety warnings issued by the state\’s firefighters union.
The Premier directly addressed the core concern of the United Firefighters Union (UFU) regarding communications in the deep underground sections.
\”The claims that have been made by the union today are wrong and they\’ve also been clearly rejected by the rail safety regulator, who is the expert on this matter,\” Allan stated, assuring the public that the countdown to opening is \”absolutely on.\”
Metro Trains chief executive Raymond O\’Flaherty reiterated this confidence, affirming the new line is equipped with \”state of the art\” fire systems and that \”Fire Rescue Victoria have carried out a lot of tests of the systems. Everything is safe and we\’re absolutely ready to go.\”
UFU Secretary Peter Marshall maintained his stance, claiming the Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) radios are critically faulty and \”do not work\” in the tunnels. Marshall estimated that reprogramming the system, a necessary step for safe operation, would take months, and warned the tunnel should not open until the systems are functional.
Premier Allan suggested the union\’s strong rhetoric, including claims that an emergency would leave passengers without rescue, was motivated by external pressures. She suggested, \”These claims are being made perhaps more for industrial purposes than anything else,\” linking the controversy to a current pay negotiation dispute.
While the new trains are set to begin running on Sunday, it remains doubtful that the full retail fitout of the new underground stations will be completed in time for the official launch.
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