Metro Tunnel
The Metro Tunnel (sometimes also known as the Melbourne Metro Rail Project or the Metro Rail Capacity Project) is a metropolitan rail infrastructure project currently under construction in Melbourne, Australia. It includes the construction of twin 9-kilometre rail tunnels between South Kensington station (north west of the Melbourne City Centre) and South Yarra (in the south east) with five new underground stations. The southern portal for the tunnel is to be located to the south of South Yarra station. As a result, the tunnel will connect the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines with the Sunbury line, and allow these lines to bypass Flinders Street station and the City Loop while still stopping in the Melbourne central business district.
Transport in Milford Sound
The proposal would create an 11.3 km tunnel through the mountain range and link up the existing roads with short extensions, cutting travel distances from 304 km one-way to only 125 km, with travel time reduced from 5.5 hours to 2 hours. Within the tunnel, buses would make use of guidance technology (side-facing wheels) to allow them to travel in a tunnel with much smaller diameter than usual, thus reducing construction costs. Speeds within the tunnel are expected to be up to 80 km/h at up to 2.5 minute frequency. The tunnel is expected to have to take at least 200,000 passengers per year to be commercially viable, and would cost around NZ$150 million. This cost is based on very little research, the ground has not had the sufficient surveying to calculate an accurate cost. The cost is likely to be much higher, seeing as the tunnel is going through 5 known fault lines.