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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent

Three stations ready, hospital dramas and more budget blowouts: is Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel still on track?

Daniel Andrews Danny Pearson Metro Tunnel Melbourne Labor Royal Melbourne Victoria
Politicians in rail tunnel
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews during a tour of the Arden Station rail development at North Melbourne, alongside then transport minister, Jacinta Allan. The project is currently scheduled to be completed some time in 2025. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

The cost of the Victorian government’s Metro Tunnel rail project has blown out by an additional $837m.

At a snap press conference on Thursday afternoon, the state’s transport infrastructure minister, Danny Pearson, announced the government had reached a deal with the project’s builders to cover the growing construction costs of the new underground rail line.

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