A new venture to complete “urgent” fire safety work in Melbourne’s underground rail loop has yet to be found, three years after the original contractor’s bankruptcy.

ASX-listed RCR Tomlinson had been hired to install large smoke extraction systems and sprinkler upgrades at three underground stations, but the company went bankrupt in 2018.

Transportation department officials said at a hearing on public accounts and estimates on Wednesday that they had yet to name anyone to complete the job.

As early as 2012, an Ombudsman investigation found that fire safety in the loop needed urgent improvements, potentially putting thousands of passengers at risk in the event of a fire.

But department secretary Paul Younis said $ 40 million to $ 50 million had already been spent to improve loop security since that time and reassured the audience that the Melbourne loop is safe.

“Security is essential, we will not operate or maintain or manage a dangerous system,” he said.

Brighton MP James Newbury questioned the timing of the work, which is expected to be completed in 2023, five years after RCR Tomlinson’s closure.

“It’s a long time for what I would have thought was serious, serious safety work… urgent work I would have thought,” he said.

Prior to its liquidation, RCR Tomlinson had installed CCTV systems, fire hydrants and intrusion detection systems.

Over the past 18 months, the ministry has taken its own records of the actual work being done by RCR Tomlinson and re-launched the development process with a contractor who was already working on the crossing project.

The general manager of the crossing removal project, Kevin Devlin, told the hearing the ministry hopes to recommend a new contractor by the end of 2021 or early 2022.

He said the ministry hoped security upgrades would be completed by 2023, but warned it had to fit the work into its schedule.

“It’s basically a very important event and when we do this work we will have to come full circle for a while, so we are looking at a significant disruption,” he said.

The hearing was also told that taxpayers may have to compensate the contractor who operates and maintains the Southern Cross station.

The claim concerns cleaning and maintenance costs, as the number of commuters using the station has plummeted during COVID-19 closures.

Mr Younis said the ministry was reviewing the request, but had not yet determined how much it might cost.

Mr Newbury also asked department officials about figures showing that fines on road cameras in Victoria rose 27% year over year, despite a sharp drop in traffic during closures.