Liberals recommit to scrapping the Suburban Rail Loop

The Socialist Bulletin Staff - 12/12/2025

IF they are to be elected in 2026, Jess Wilson's Victorian Liberals have recommitted to scrapping the $30 billion Suburban Rail Loop East, a necessary project that has already been partially funded, and that has already begun construction.

Tunnel boring is expected to begin before the state election next November, which would mean that, if the Liberals are elected, the money already spent on construction will have been wasted, and the eastern suburbs of Melbourne would be left with several large holes in the ground that take up space for very little reason.

The Suburban Rail Loop is a vital project that will not only provide a transport option that bypasses the CBD, the first of which since the closure of the Outer Circle railway in 1892, but it will also provide for the building of many homes, which are desperately needed as Melbourne and Victoria grow at a record pace.

By 2050, Melbourne is expected to be a city approximately the size of London today, meaning that our current rail network, which is radial and relies heavily on transit through the CBD, will be well over capacity, something the SRL would mitigate.

The SRL will also provide hubs in the middle suburbs for people to congregate, as has been seen with the similar Metro Tunnel project in the inner suburbs, that has recently opened.

SRL East currently employs 3,000 people in construction, jobs that would be made redundant if the Liberals were to be elected next year.

It is imperative that all readers do not preference the Liberal or National Parties in the next state election, as the SRL relies on a non-Liberal government being elected.