Australia

Firefighters Union Demands Halt to Metro Tunnel Opening Over ‘Dangerous Radio Fault’

5:56 pm - November 24, 2025
Australia

MELBOURNE — The opening of Melbourne’s new $13.5 billion Metro Tunnel is facing a last-minute fight over safety, as the state’s firefighters union issues a dire warning about a critical communications fault in the new underground system.

Despite Premier Jacinta Allan being at Parkville Station today to declare the project “completely safe” and ready for its scheduled opening this Sunday (November 30), the United Firefighters Union (UFU) is calling for an immediate halt.

UFU Secretary Peter Marshall claims that the radio systems used by Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) are not functional in the tunnel, which could have fatal consequences in an emergency.

“These radios don’t work. The Fire Rescue Victoria radios do not work. They need to be reprogrammed,” Marshall stated, estimating the fix would take months. “If there is an incident down in the tunnel, you will not be rescued.”

Marshall accused the government of prioritizing the project timeline over public welfare, arguing, “What we’re seeing here is political expediency over public safety.”

Premier Allan immediately hit back, accusing the union of using safety claims as leverage in an unrelated industrial dispute, suggesting the issue is “more for industrial purposes than anything else.”

The Premier stressed that the project has received the necessary sign-off from authorities. “The claims that have been made by the union today are wrong and they’ve also been clearly rejected by the rail safety regulator, who is the expert on this matter,” Allan said.

Metro Trains chief executive Raymond O’Flaherty echoed the Premier’s assurance, saying the system has “state of the art” fire systems and confirmed FRV has carried out extensive testing. “Everything is safe and we’re absolutely ready to go,” he said.

The first passengers are still scheduled to travel on the new line this Sunday, despite the ongoing public dispute, while the full retail fitout of the stations remains doubtful for the initial opening.