Almost every infrastructure expert opposed the Victorian government’s Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) because the price tag was excessive, the project lacked a business case, it failed any objective cost-benefit analysis, and it would have insufficient user demand.
For example, a cost-benefit analysis by Victoria’s Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) found that the SRL East and North sections have a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) during 50 years of operations of just 0.6 to 0.7—meaning the project returns only 60–70 cents in benefits for every dollar spent.
Despite these serious concerns, Premier Allan has signed multiple tunneling contracts to build the SRL, thereby locking Victorians deeper into debt and diverting scarce funding from the state’s growth areas.
