Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop has been added to Infrastructure Australia’s latest national priority list. The first stage is now classed as ready for investment and supported for more delivery funding.
In its 2026 Infrastructure Priority List, the agency said SRL East is an immediate priority for the rail link between Cheltenham and Box Hill. It said later stages of the wider project are in the five to 10 year pipeline.
The decision is a major boost for the Allan government’s key project which has faced years of questions over its cost and value.
SRL East includes 26 kilometres of twin tunnels, six new underground stations at Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill, and a new stabling facility at Heatherton.
Infrastructure Australia said the line would make it easier to travel between suburbs, link major jobs, health, education and retail centres and support more housing along the corridor. The Commonwealth has already committed $2.2 billion to the project.
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The higher ranking is a clear change from Infrastructure Australia’s view last year. In its January 2025 assessment, the agency said it had low confidence in the project’s cost estimate.
It also found the business case did not clearly separate the benefits of SRL East from later stages. The agency warned the economic case could be overstated because the full benefits would not be seen until years after SRL North was completed.
It also recommended detailed exit plans in case the project could not be delivered.
Even so, Infrastructure Australia’s latest advice shows the project has won back support in Canberra. The agency now says the Australian Government should consider giving SRL East more delivery funding.
It also notes the Victorian government is already moving ahead with works with three of the five major packages awarded that gives the project fresh national support even as questions about long term cost, funding and benefits remain part of the debate.
