Event: Victorian

The Victorian opposition has described Ben Carroll’s plan to scale back new train stations along the Suburban Rail Loop to shave just over 5% off its total cost as “incredibly unimpressive and underwhelming”.The premier on Tuesday announced changes to the scope of the first stage of the state’s largest-ever infrastructure project, known as SRL East – a 26km stretch of tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill – estimated to save $1bn. He also ordered an “independent, technical review” to identify a further $1bn in savings.Combined, the two measures would reduce the total cost of SRL East by just 6% to about $32.3bn, from a maximum $34.5bn contained in the project’s 2021 business and investment case.Carroll, who took on the Labor leadership a month ago, vowed not to rip up the $14.5bn in construction contracts already signed, despite reportedly not being a fan of the proposed 90km orbital train line. That line is planned to eventually travel from Cheltenham, in the city’s southeast, to Werribee, in the west, via Melbourne airport.The project was first announced by then-premier Daniel Andrews ahead of the 2018 election, when it was estimated to cost $50bn. His successor, Jacinta Allan, was the minister initially responsible for overseeing its development and championed it while premier. The government has not released a total estimated cost for the entire project but the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated in 2024 that the first two stages would cost $96.4bn and an additional $120.2bn would be required to operate the line for 50 years. Illustration: Supplied by the Victorian government.In radio appearances on Monday, Carroll suggested other projects were more important to Victorians than SRL, including filling potholes, electrifying Melbourne’s V/Line Melton corridor and a train to Melbourne airport. In an interview with Guardian Australia, Carroll described Melbourne Airport Rail as his top…