A 78-tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) cutterhead has arrived in Melbourne ready for tunnelling of Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East to start next year.
Crews are building TBM launch sites in Clarinda and Burwood, with more TBMs arriving early next year and 3000 people already working on the project.
The cutterhead will be part of a TBM carving the southern section of tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley.
Each TBM is more than 100m long, with a cutterhead more than 7m in diameter. All TBMs will be powered by renewable electricity.
These TBMs have been built in China by Herrenknecht – a leading manufacturer of TBMs for many of the world’s largest and most complex road and rail tunnels.
SRL East will deliver 26km of twin tunnels and 6 brand new underground stations at Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill. At their deepest point, the tunnels will be approximately 60m below ground, the equivalent depth of a 16-storey building.
SRL will slash travel times and cut congestion, while delivering 70,000 more homes within walking distance of jobs, healthcare, green open spaces and Australia’s largest universities. Trains will be taking passengers in 2035.