Millions blown as state fumbles Metro Tunnel’s interference (2024)

Train testing in the new Metro Tunnel is disrupting sensitive medical equipment in Parkville’s hospitals, despite the issue being identified a decade ago, and it is now costing Victorians tens of millions of dollars annually to address.

A leaked government document reveals that in June, magnetic resonance imaging machines (MRIs) at Parkville’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre failed to meet strict standards on multiple occasions, when tested as trains ran on the subway line beneath the hospital.

On Tuesday, The Age revealed a leaked report showed the new $14 billion underground line faced delays, potential compensation claims and plans to dump elements to cut costs.

It can now be revealed the document also detailed unresolved issues with the cancer treatment equipment in the Parkville medical precinct, where several major hospitals are located, and under which the rail line runs.

The issue affecting MRI scanners has been resolved at the Royal Melbourne Hospital but at the nearby Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the machines failed recent equipment tests.

MRIs use strong magnetic fields to produce detailed images of the inside of the body but strong electrical currents and vibrations can render the sensitive instruments unreliable.

The rail line, which will link Kensington to South Yarra via a new nine-kilometre subway, passes within 20 metres of the medical imaging equipment located at the Peter Mac, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital, and a powerful microscope at the Peter Doherty Institute.

Hearings in 2016 into the impact of the rail tunnel warned that vibrations from building the underground rail tunnel and the subsequent electromagnetic interference from trains running so close to these centres when the rail line opened could affect scanning badly.

The state government was repeatedly questioned about this in the project’s early stages. Then-health minister Jenny Mikakos was quizzed in state parliament in 2019 about what her government was doing to address the problem.

“There have been regular meetings between health and transport officials to resolve these issues,” she told parliament. “Since this issue was first identified some time ago, these discussions have been progressing very satisfactorily. I am assured that the needs of the Parkville precinct hospitals will be addressed.”

Five years later, the leaked document shows those same issues have not been resolved at Peter Mac, Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer treatment, research and education.

“Initial analysis of results of testing on 22/23 June 2024 indicate Peter Mac MRIs in Parkville are not passing system performance tests,” the leaked government report says.

The issue is already causing significant costs. To deal with the impacts on scanners, the hospitals have set up temporary scanning for patients in East Melbourne, and put additional equipment on level nine of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Cancer patients either staying at Peter Mac or visiting for scans now have to travel to these locations.

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The leaked report said the East Melbourne facility was fitted out to allow for two MRIs at a capital cost of about $30 million, and flagged ongoing operational costs that were being picked up by the state government.

“The Metro Tunnel Project Office is finalising details of a funding agreement for Peter Mac operational expenditure for three years circa $10 million,” the leaked report says.

“If temporary service in East Melbourne and at the [Royal Melbourne Hospital] are required to continue past 2026, further operational expenditure will be required, which is not in the Metro Tunnel Project budget.”

The leaked paper showed the issues had in total cost $128 million in capital works across Peter Mac, Royal Women’s and Royal Melbourne hospitals.

A Peter Mac spokesman said that patients at the centre continued to access “high-quality, timely MRI and other imaging services at Peter Mac Imaging East Melbourne and at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as required”.

In May, the government announced it would ditch a $5 billion plan to build two new medical towers for the Royal Melbourne and Royal Women’s hospitals near the new Arden station citing electromagentic interference from the train line.

A state government spokesman said measures were in place to manage the impacts of electromagnetic interference prior to train testing commencing.

“Train testing started in July last year,” he said.

Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman David Southwick said the cost of dealing with the issues created by the Metro Tunnel showed the government was “mismanaging” major projects and “putting the financial stability of the state of Victoria at risk”.

Asked about issues with the Metro Tunnel on Tuesday, Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said it was “on track to open next year” and that it was “a transformative project that is going to transform the way Melbournians and Victorians move across our city”.

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