Trenchless works are powering the Sydney Metro West tunnels forward in a major project milestone.
Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) constructing the mega Sydney Metro West tunnels have made a smashing entrance 24-metres below the surface at the Clyde Metro junction caverns.
This latest milestone means that over 80 per cent of the 24km twin metro railway tunnels for this city-shaping project that the Minns Labor Government is using to drive housing uplift has been completed.
TBM Dorothy broke through the solid rock walls to arrive at the giant junction caverns last month, after spending three months tunnelling 1.1km from Clyde.
TBM Betty was tracking slightly ahead, arriving at Clyde junction caverns in December last year. TBM Betty spent seven weeks traversing the cavern is now tunnelling towards Parramatta.
This junction cavern at Clyde will play a critical role in the Sydney Metro network as it connects the metro tunnels with the above ground stabling and maintenance facility, where the network’s new fleet of trains will be housed when not in service.
Since starting their westward tunnelling journey in September 2024, TBMs Betty and Dorothy have been working around the clock to excavate about 200 metres of tunnel each week.
So far, the TBMs have carved out 5.7km of twin tunnels between Sydney Olympic Park and Clyde, removing more than 1.1 million tonnes of material, equivalent to about 180 Olympic-size swimming pools.
Along the way, the TBMs have installed more than 41,000 precast concrete segments to line the new tunnel walls. Each precast segment weighs about 3.8 tonnes, with six segments pieced together to form one ring around the tunnel.
Both TBMs will now build a further 1.1km section of tunnels to reach the site of the future Parramatta Metro Station by mid-year.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said it was a major step for Western Sydney.
“These fast and reliable new metro services will double rail capacity between the Sydney CBD and Parramatta and will be a game-changer, getting more people around our city faster,” he said.
“I want to thank the thousands of workers who have gotten this project to this point and will be working around the clock until Australia’s largest public transport project is opened.”
Rail capacity between the Sydney CBD and Parramatta is set to be doubled upon completion of the project.
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