It's unclear if there was a "request" - that was just the public messaging of the disruption at the time it happened.
Sounds like several UFU members gained unauthorised access, triggering an alarm.

I put some more observations and pics into a blog post: danielbowen.com/2025/11/30/m...

First eastbound not helped by front carriage reserved for pollies and media.

Lots of good work done on this project, but had to offer my congratulations on the construction update videos they've been posting. Often this aspect is overlooked, but they've been great.
Example: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmJ9...
#Melbourne #MetroTunnel

Yes correct. And at one point they thought it might be built in two separate halves, only joined once the second stage was complete.

The best solution here would be to configure the Myki gates for both stations so they would know they are in one combined station/paid area, eg “State Library and Melbourne Central”. That would fix the issue properly.

It's a passage through two railway stations.
I'd guess that most people don't even know that in other Melbourne stations you can do this for free with a Myki card.
(Yes, they should fix the ticketing. But not open the gates.)

If they're cutting through the station but not catching a train, and haven't paid a fare, they're not even PT users. Most people will just cross at street level anyway.
They should fix the ticket system to handle it properly, but instead they've found the worst solution to the issue.

Few people will take this shortcut without catching a train. Most people in the CBD pay a daily Myki fare, and won't benefit. But fare evaders will love it.

True, from Sunday, but the three letter internal station codes (including that one) have been around for decades. danielbowen.com/2016/03/14/s...

If you want something more wholesome, try Hughesdale bsky.app/profile/ptua...