Photo: ABC

Premier Daniel Andrews today joined Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan at Anzac Station where after 18 months of extensive works, construction is now commencing on the new Station.

New modelling released today shows travel times to the St Kilda Road employment and residential precinct and the Shrine of Remembrance will be slashed by up to 25 minutes in each direction, or 50 minutes a day, once the new Anzac Station is built.

Access to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne and other key destinations in Parkville will be slashed by up to 20 minutes in each direction, or 40 minutes a day.

Passengers on the Cranbourne/Pakenham and Sunbury lines will benefit significantly once these lines start running through the Metro Tunnel and they swap a combination of train and tram travel for a direct rail connection.

People travelling on these lines each work day will save more than four hours a week to and from St Kilda Road and up to three and a half hours a week to and from Parkville.

Passengers across Melbourne will also benefit as the Metro Tunnel delivers quicker, more convenient journeys and hassle-free connections for tens of thousands of people each day.

Frankston line passengers will save up to 15 minutes in each direction travelling to both Parkville and Domain. Passengers on other lines such as Werribee, Williamstown and Belgrave/Lilydale will no longer need to hop on a crowded tram or bus when heading to Parkville.

Instead they’ll make seamless connections to Metro Tunnel services that will take them to their destination by train, saving them up to 10 minutes in each direction, or 20 minutes a day. Regional passengers will also experience travel time savings of up to 15 minutes.

This seamless interchange between train lines and frequent services is a hallmark of metro-style “turn-up-and-go” systems around the world.