Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) has successfully tested the new High-Capacity Signalling (HCS) system in Melbourne's new 9 km suburban rail tunnel. The line is expected to open in 2025, one year earlier than planned. The CBTC system installed by Rail Systems Alliance, a consortium of CPB Contractors, Alstom, and MTM, will allow trains to run through the new tunnel at a frequency of up to every three minutes. During testing, 18 trains per hour travelled between West Footscray and Hawksburn, with some trains operating at two-minute intervals. The HCS has already been successfully retrofitted on the existing Cranbourne and Pakenham suburban rail lines in autumn 2023. The new six-car electric multiple units (EMU) High Capacity Metro Train (HCMT) built by the Evolution consortium were used to test the signalling system.
