Proposed savings to Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop project questioned

Extra, unnecessary features cut from the Suburban Rail Loop are never counted towards the cost of the $34.5 billion mega project, the responsible authority has revealed, calling into question Premier Ben Carroll’s claim that he can cut the price tag.

Carroll on Tuesday said he had identified $1 billion worth of savings from the first leg of the mega project, SRL East, slashing the cost from $34.5 billion to $33.3 billion, and two underground station interchanges and a multi-level car park would no longer go ahead. But the estimated total cost of the project never included the interchanges and not enough had been budgeted for the parking at Glen Waverley, the audit said in a warning of possible cost blowouts, a report by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) revealed on Wednesday.

A government spokesman insisted the decision to avoid “unnecessary scope” would reduce the total estimated investment to $33.3 billion. The Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) explained the items had not been counted towards the total cost because the government never agreed to building them, claiming that it is standard practice on major infrastructure projects for optional or additional scope elements to be identified, assessed and considered separately from the approved scope until a final decision is made regarding their inclusion.

VAGO said the interchanges at Cheltenham, Glen Waverley and Box Hill stations would cost a total of $1.7 billion but that just $104 million had been included in the total estimated cost of the project. The Glen Waverley and Box Hill interchanges are not proceeding.