- published: 23 Feb 2016
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The Melbourne Metro is a planned metropolitan rail tunnel in Melbourne, Australia. The tunnels are proposed to travel from South Kensington railway station (north west of the Melbourne CBD) to South Yarra railway station (in the south east). The tunnel was announced in December 2008 as part of the Victorian State Government's Victorian Transport Plan.
The tunnel under its original proposal was set to be built in two stages. However the Baillieu State Government has instead reconfigured the proposal to be completed as a 9-kilometre one-stage project extending from Footscray/South Kensington to the Domain Interchange, providing direct rail connections for the first time to the St Kilda Road business district, south of the Melbourne CBD, and relieving pressure on the many tram services currently running through the area. The tunnels are part of a wider plan to reconfigure and untangle Melbourne's rail network. The plan will see the tunnels serviced by Sunbury (Sydenham) line services initially, which will no longer operate via the City Loop. Melton line services are also expected to use the tunnel when this line is upgraded to an electrified, metro service.
Melbourne ([ˈmelbən, -bn̩, ˈmæl-],rhotically /ˈmɛlbərn/) is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2010, the greater geographical area had an approximate population of four million. Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melburnians or Melbournians.
The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River (at the northernmost point of the bay). The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. The city centre is situated in the municipality known as the City of Melbourne, and the metropolitan area consists of a further 30 municipalities.
Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of Australia) by settlers from Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. It was named by governor Richard Bourke in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb—the 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847. In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.