The Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) proposed by the Victorian government was opposed by almost all infrastructure experts due to its high cost, lack of a business case, failure to pass any objective cost-benefit analysis, and inability to generate sufficient customer demand.
For instance, the SRL East and North parts have a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of only 0.6-0.7 over 50 years of operation, meaning the project returns only 60–70 cents for every dollar spent, according to a cost-benefit study conducted by Victoria’s Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
Premier Jacinta Allan has signed multiple tunnelling contracts to develop the SRL, despite significant issues, thereby burdening Victorians with additional debt and diverting limited resources from the state’s growth sectors.
