Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews defended his government's Suburban Rail Loop after independent analysis suggested the cost of the project would far exceed the government's estimate.
Analysis from Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Office [PBO] puts the cost of building the project at $125 billion — more than double the government's own estimate.
Another $75 billion dollars in operating costs takes the total predicted spend for the project to more than $200 billion by the estimated completion date in 2084-85.
The analysis was prepared by the PBO at the request of Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.
The PBO estimated the cost of the first stage of the project from Cheltenham to Box Hill, which is already underway, at $36.5 billion.
When the rail project was announced in 2018, the Andrews government estimated the cost at around $50 billion.
Mr Andrews described the rail loop as a once-in-a-generation project that his government had begun but subsequent governments would need to finish.
"Just imagine what our city is like without our City Loop. You can't imagine, it would be complete chaos. Well, our suburbs need the Suburban Loop," he said.
Mr Andrews denied under-costing the project, saying the PBO's estimate for the first stage of the rail line was in line with the government's own estimate.
"The one sure way that that critically important rail project costs more than it should is if you put it on hold or if you scrap it," he said.
"We have nothing that has ever been built in this state that was cheaper because it was delayed or shelved or put off."
Shadow Minister for Government Scrutiny Louise Staley said the Suburban Rail Loop project would double the state's debt.
"Victorians really deserve to know that this project is not anywhere near the cost the government has been saying it is," she said.
"Victoria's debt is already more than NSW, Queensland and Tasmania combined. This one project would double that debt again."
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The Victorian opposition yesterday pledged to shelve the project and divert the money that would have been spent into an overhaul of the state's health system.
"The government cannot manage any of its major projects within realistic budget estimates," Ms Staley said.
"We've seen it with North-East Link, we've seen it with the West Gate Tunnel. All of these projects are massively over-budget."
The opposition said it would build new hospitals at Melton, Mildura, West Gippsland and Wodonga as well as a new infectious diseases hospital with money that would have been used for the rail loop.
It is also proposing a major rebuild of hospitals at Rosebud, St Arnaud and Sandringham, and would allocate $550 million towards rebuilding Caulfield Hospital.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the government was committed to the project because it would transform Melbourne for future generations.
"The Andrews Labor government is investing in transport infrastructure because it is about providing better connections, fairer connections, safer roads, safer train trips," she said.
"And also too, it's underpinning tens of thousands of jobs in our economy and it's these sorts of jobs that are under attack from Matthew Guy and the Liberal Party through their cuts to the Suburban Rail Loop."
