The Oxford Scholar will close next week. Credit:Daniel Pockett The pub's lifeblood – its student clientele – immediately dropped off and business has not recovered. In April, Mr Wulf said his revenue had dropped by between $3000 and $5000 a week. "We can't afford to keep trading; we just can't continue to fund the losses," said Mr Wulf, whose pub has not been offered any form of compensation from the Andrews government. The $10.9 billion rail tunnel under the city centre will run from Kensington under the CBD to South Yarra. Mr Wulf said he had taken legal advice about the possibility of suing the government over the damage to his business.

Oxford Scholar publican Malcolm Wulf. Credit:Eddie Jim The closure comes as a blow to a group of half a dozen current and former public servants who have drunk at the Oxford Scholar for the past two years. "None of us have any objection to the Metro Tunnel, but the fact it is impacting this business so badly is terrible," said John Page, whose group drank at the Duke of Kent pub in La Trobe Street until it was shut down to make way for apartments. Last drinks: Oxford Scholar regulars John Page, Bob Hopkins, John Ryan and Raymond Evans. Credit:Daniel Pockett "The Metro [Tunnel authority], the council and the state government just seem completely disinterested to the fact it's hurt Malcolm [Wulf]. There's been no compensation, just nothing."

Mr Wulf said the Metro Tunnel authority had tried to help out with some online promotion, but that this was a largely misguided attempt. The pub before rail tunnel construction works began. "It was dealing with the problem once the problem had almost finished us," he said. The removal of outside tables at the start of the year when students were first likely to visit the pub, and such events as the Australian Open tennis and grand prix were generating large city crowds, meant the pub had suffered. Mr Wulf said next week's closure of the pub would be "a fairly large day" for him, as many former staff and regulars had promised to visit.

A spokesman for the tunnel authority said that it had been working with the pub to provide practical support since 2015. The authority had provided way-finding signage, sealed windows, upgraded air filters, moved services and assisted with new food offers to attract customers. "While a project of this size will cause some unavoidable local disruption while it is being built, the Metro Tunnel will deliver decades of benefits for Melbourne and Victoria," he said. Opposition public transport spokesman David Hodgett said extreme. He said Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan "should seriously consider providing assistance in this instance". Loading

A Melbourne City Council spokeswoman confirmed the pub's outdoor tables permit in A'Beckett Street had been cancelled in January when works on the Metro Tunnel started. She said council officers had met with Mr Wulf in May to discuss concerns over taking away his outdoor tables. "We have also spoken to him on the phone several times," she said. The council had undertaken a number of site visits that had confirmed that moving the pub's outdoor tables onto Swanston Street "was not a viable option".