August 31, 2026 — 7:47pmPremier Ben Carroll’s billion-dollar cost-cutting push on the Suburban Rail Loop will increase travel times and deter commuters from using the mega-project, planning experts say, as local councils revolt over the changes.The government announced last Tuesday it would scrap underground station interchanges at Box Hill and Glen Waverley, pedestrian overpasses in Burwood and Cheltenham, and a multi-level car park to rein in spending on the $33.3 billion rail project.Planning experts warn the government’s plan to can station interchanges and pedestrian overpasses at Suburban Rail Loop stations will diminish the project’s worth. Joe Armao“The changes we are making are ensuring that they’re common sense without all the bells and whistles,” Carroll said. “Overpasses, walkways, car parks … are nice to have, but they are not needed to build the orbital railway line.”But transport planning experts said interconnectivity between planned SRL East stations and existing stations should be a priority, and dumping interchanges risked turning the project from the envisioned orbit train line into an isolated radial line like Melbourne’s existing infrastructure.Jago Dodson, a professor of urban policy at RMIT University, said given the project was still very expensive, the government would be better off spending more to increase accessibility and maximise the number of people who would use it.“You’re going to increase the travel times, and therefore the comparability of the SRL travel versus using your car is going to be diminished, and so you end up not achieving the mode-shift kind of objectives you’re trying to gain, or you just add inconvenience to travels,” Dodson said.He added: “The more [compromises] that are made around connectivity and convenient transfers, the less it becomes an integrated network, and the more it becomes an isolated rail line for the most passengers.”Dr Jane Bringolf, chair of the Centre of University Design Australia, said the changes would deter people using the network, especially those with accessibility needs.“When we think about the number of people with different types of disabilities and long-term health conditions, it can mean if someone has got to take the long way round, it could be too far to walk, it could be too far to wheel.“I think interchanges are essential for the smooth running of any transport system.”Associate Professor Jo Kuys, an industrial design expert at Swinburne University, said seamless underground interchanges between stations were optimal, but Labor’s decision to scrap them at Box Hill and Glen Waverley would not cause an “extreme inconvenience”.Kuys said research showed walking 400 metres between stations, which takes about five minutes, was considered “doable” for commuters, but anything beyond 800 metres, or a 10-minute walk, was inconvenient.A state government spokesperson said it would replace the planned underground interchanges with safe and efficient surface transfers.“We have made sensible decisions to make immediate savings of $1 billion now and avoided additional costs from adding unnecessary scope,” they said.“These changes will not impact services on day one when the Suburban Rail Loop opens in 2035 – slashing travel times and connecting Monash and Deakin by rail for the first time.”A spokesperson for Deakin University said it would work with the government after the changes to the Burwood interchange.“Safe and direct access to the campus for students, staff and the community is important to us,” the spokesperson said.A report by the Victorian Auditor-General released last week also revealed the government had not included the cost of the station interchanges when budgeting the project, raising questions over whether scrapping the infrastructure would result in real savings to the project.“These items represent potential future scope options, not approved project costs,” the Suburban Rail Loop Authority said to the auditor-general.Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman Evan Mulholland said this was further evidence the government lacked integrity.“We know from the VAGO report that these crucial interchanges that Ben Carroll scrapped the day before were never actually funded in the first place,” he said.“Ben Carroll can’t be trusted, he knew about the secret tax and didn’t come clean about it.”Local councils are disappointed at Carroll’s decision to scrap planned pedestrian overpasses in Burwood and Cheltenham, saying it raised serious safety concerns.Whitehorse Mayor Kirsten Langford outside Deakin University in Burwood on Monday.Wayne TaylorThe footbridge in Burwood was intended to connect Deakin University with the new SRL station and provide safe passage over the busy six-lane Burwood Highway, while the Cheltenham pedestrian and cyclist overpass would have connected Southland station to the new SRL station and created a walkway over Bay Road.Neither council was consulted on the changes.“To get rid of the footbridge is dangerous. To have all pedestrians cross at ground level will cause traffic chaos, with three additional sets of traffic lights,” said Whitehorse Mayor Kirsten Langford.“If you’re building a world-class train system, you don’t skip pedestrian infrastructure that provides safe and efficient connections.”Kingston Mayor Georgina Oxley said scrapping the overpass would create a critical gap in the transport interchange for locals.“With the new SRL station to sit across a busy road from Southland, this shortsighted decision will create safety and accessibility headaches, particularly for children, older people and people with mobility issues,” she said.“In 2026, it should be about making it safer and easier for people to move around, not harder.”Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.From our partners