State Library railway station (originally under the working title of CBD North) is a railway station currently under construction as part of the

Metro Tunnel The Metro Tunnel (previously known during planning as the Melbourne Metro Rail Project) is a metropolitan rail infrastructure project currently under construction in Melbourne, Australia. It includes the construction of twin 9-kilometre rail tun ...

project in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Construction commenced in 2018 with the station scheduled to open in 2025.

History

In December 2008, the proposal for a new underground rail corridor running north-south through the

Melbourne CBD The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city l ...

was incorporated into the

Brumby Ministry The Brumby Ministry was the 66th ministry of the Government of Victoria. It was led by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, and Deputy Premier, Rob Hulls. It succeeded the Bracks Ministry on 3 August 2007, following the retirement of former Pr ...

Victorian Transport Plan The Victorian Transport Plan is a now defunct transport planning framework for the state of Victoria, Australia announced on 9 December 2008 by then Premier of Victoria, John Brumby. The plan was submitted to the Government of Australia for fun ...

after originally featuring in a report from

Rod Eddington Sir Roderick Ian Eddington AO FTSE (born 2 January 1950) is an Australian businessman. He was first appointed to the board of News Corporation in 1999, still serves on News Corp board and also serves on the board of another of Rupert Murdoch' ...

. It was to be built in two stages: the first from Footscray to

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, in ...

, and the second continuing to Caulfield. The need for a new rail corridor and stations through the CBD was identified in an effort to reduce congestion on the

City Loop The City Loop (originally called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a mostly- underground and partly surface-level subway and rail system in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Loop include ...

, enabling more frequent and reliable services across Melbourne's railway network. Following a change of State Government, in 2012/2013 the Baillieu and Napthine Ministries announced a revised plan with the tunnel instead running from

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with t ...

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...

along a similar route to the original proposal. The revised project included five underground stations, including one under the working title 'CBD North' and was listed as the highest-priority infrastructure project in Melbourne by

Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body providing independent research and advice to all levels of government and industry on projects and reforms relating to investment in Australian infrastructure. It advocates for reforms o ...

. The project went unfunded due largely to tension between the state and federal governments. In February 2015 the proposal was revived by the newly elected

Andrews Ministry The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended. It was subsequently abolished under the Northern Ireland C ...

with construction to commence in 2018 and the tunnel and stations planned to open in 2026. The total cost of the project is A$11 billion.

Naming

In August 2017, the Government launched a naming competition for the five new railway stations to be constructed as part of the Metro Rail Project. Following over 50,000 submissions, in November 2017 State Library was announced as the winning entry for the working-title CBD North station due to its proximity to the landmark

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

building.

Location

The railway station is located below

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertical ...

between La Trobe and Streets in the northern edges of Melbourne's CBD. The station will connect with Melbourne Central station via a pedestrian walkway, enabling transfer from other

railway lines A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

and will have entrances at the corner of Latrobe/Swanston Street and Franklin/Swanston Street, enabling more convenient access to City Baths and

Queen Victoria Market The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over , it is the largest open air market in the Southern Hem ...

. The initial build method chosen for construction was

cut-and-cover A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

, however this was changed in order to avoid significant disruption and to keep trams running along the world's busiest tram corridor,

Services from 2025

Platform 1: * All stations and limited express services to Sunbury Platform 2: * Express services to Pakenham and Cranbourne

References

Proposed railway stations in Melbourne Railway stations scheduled to open in 2025 Railway stations located underground in Australia Railway stations in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre Tram stops in Melbourne