Alstom has delivered Australia’s first brownfield installation of a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system as part of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project, which has now opened for passenger service. The company’s Urbalis Flo CBTC system is installed on an existing rail network and enables higher-frequency train operations by reducing the time between trains and allowing more services to run. In addition to CBTC, Alstom supplied custom platform screen doors and key signalling technology for the Sunshine Signal Control Centre. The system combines modern CBTC technology with conventional signalling and supports features like Automatic Train Operation with a driver on board. Extensive testing (over 4,000 hours and 70,000 km) was conducted before opening to ensure performance, including improved precision in train speed and station stopping, reduced turnaround times, and increased service capacity. Alstom led the work in collaboration with international teams and remains the only provider to have deployed urban CBTC technology in Australia, with Melbourne joining Sydney and Perth in adopting advanced signalling systems. 

The Metro Tunnel Project is a major rail infrastructure initiative in Melbourne, Australia, designed to transform the city’s rail network by creating a new underground rail corridor that runs beneath the central business district. The core of the project consists of twin rail tunnels spanning about 9 km that connect the Sunbury line in the west to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in the southeast, bypassing the existing City Loop and opening capacity for more frequent and reliable train services. Five new underground stations have been constructed at Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac, with new pedestrian links to key interchanges. The tunnel doubles the size of Melbourne’s underground rail system and includes high-capacity signalling to support turn-up-and-go train frequencies and easier connections to universities, hospitals, employment centres and major attractions across the city. Passenger services through the Metro Tunnel began in late 2025, with full integration into the wider network and a new timetable rolling out in February 2026.