City Square to reopen with Jimmy Barnes concert

But public transport will be free for every Victorian in the state from November 30, every weekend until February 1, when the new stations will be fully integrated with the existing network.

The state’s Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said Melbourne was the country’s cultural capital and the concert was one of many free events held during the summer months.

The Metro Tunnel project consists of a nine kilometer rail tunnel between Kensington and South Yarra, with five new metro stations at Anzac (opposite the Shrine of Remembrance), Town Hall, State Library, Parkville and Arden (in North Melbourne).

The Metro Tunnel will connect the Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines, which will exit the City Loop and create a new intercity rail link.

The exact timetable has not yet been announced but the state government has previously said trains will run at least every 10 minutes between Watergardens and Dandenong from 6am to 10pm.

Victoria poured $13.48 billion into the project, which had an original budget of $10.9 billion.

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