Tunnel works

Construction of SRL East is powering ahead, with preparations well underway for SRL East tunnelling to start in 2026.

Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have started arriving on site in late 2025 to carve 26km of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill. At their deepest point, the tunnels will be approximately 60m below ground, the equivalent depth of a 16-storey building.

Work sites

TBMs will launch from Clarinda to excavate the southern section of tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, and from Burwood to dig the northern section of tunnels between Glen Waverley and Box Hill.

The 2 SRL East tunnelling contractors are preparing to launch TBMs from these sites from 2026.

SRLA alignment render

Map description

Launch site north

Tunnel boring machines will launch from Burwood to carve the tunnels between Glen Waverley and Box Hill, heading north to Box Hill south to Glen Waverley. Tunnelling of this sections starts in 2026.

Launch site south

4 tunnel boring machines will launch from Clarinda to dig the tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley. 2 will travel south to Cheltenham - via the train stabling facility in Heatherton - and 2 will head north to Glen Waverley. Tunnelling in this southern section also starts in 2026.

About Burwood

Four TBMs will launch from Burwood – 2 will tunnel towards Glen Waverley and 2 towards Box Hill.

Main works are underway in Burwood – with TBMs now being assembled on-site, before being lowered into the TBM launch site in sections ready for tunnelling to start later this year.

Construction of a second tunnel boring machine launch site is well underway, as well as construction of acoustic sheds to reduce impacts on local residents.

Find out more about Burwood

About Clarinda

Four TBMs will launch from Clarinda – 2 will tunnel west towards Cheltenham via the train stabling facility at Heatherton, and 2 will tunnel north to Glen Waverley via Clayton and Monash.

The 2 TBMs heading towards Cheltenham will come to the surface at the eastern tunnel entrance of the train stabling facility and will be transported to the western tunnel entrance, before relaunching and continuing to tunnel to Cheltenham.

See how the TBMs will launch from the Clarinda site.

Find out more about Clarinda

About the TBMs

The 8 TBMs needed for SRL East have been supplied by 2 of the world’s leading manufacturers of TBMs - Herrenknecht and the China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG).

The 4 Herrenknecht TBMs – which are 7.24m in diameter and 100m to 150m long - will tunnel the southern section between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley.

Two of the Herrenknecht TBMs will travel west to Cheltenham - via the train stabling facility at Heatherton - and the other 2 will head north to Glen Waverley. The southbound TBMs can also be converted for use as earth pressure balance machines, to suit ground conditions along the way.

Herrenknecht TBMs are also being used on the Snowy 2.0 project, as well as the West Gate Tunnel; North East Link; Sydney Metro; South Road Project in Adelaide, and the Legacy Way, Airport Link and Clem Jones Tunnel in Brisbane.

Two of the Herrenknecht TBMs were built in Guangzhou, China – with one now starting to arrive in Australia. The other 2 will be rebuilt following their use on the Sydney Metro project, which will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of SRL East. Refurbishment of long gantries for these 2 machines will be carried out at Herrenknecht’s Newcastle facility in New South Wales.

All 4 TBMs for the southern section of the tunnels will launch from Clarinda – the first 2 in 2026.

The 4 CREG TBMs are currently being built in Zhengzhou, China. Two will launch from Burwood next year, tunnelling south to Glen Waverley, with the other 2 heading north towards Box Hill at a later date.

CREG already provides TBMs for 2 other major infrastructure projects in Australia - Snowy 2.0, and the West Harbour Tunnel Project in Sydney in addition to major transport construction projects in over a dozen countries worldwide.

All 8 SRL TBMs will be powered by 100% renewable electricity.

Our tunnel boring machine names

SRL East's 8 tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are named after groundbreaking Victorian women.

Around the world, most TBMs are named after women, following a tradition dating back to the 1500s, when miners prayed to Saint Barbara for protection.

Students from 8 local primary schools near SRL East stations chose the names from a shortlist of inspiring Victorian women from a range of backgrounds and industries.

These students will be among the first to use SRL East when it opens in 2035 to get to uni, TAFE or work, and will also have their own names printed on the giant machine they helped name.

TBMs for Cheltenham to Glen Waverley

TBM Aayushi

Named after Aayushi Khillan – founder of Body Buddies – by Le Page Primary School students

'I came to Australia as a young immigrant at 3 years old, so to now be chosen by primary school students as the namesake of a tunnel boring machine is an honour beyond words. To be embraced by the next generation and become part of Melbourne’s landscape as a doctor, social entrepreneur, and advocate means so much to me. I want every child who voted to know that they can achieve anything they dream of.'

Aayushi is currently studying to become a pediatrician and completing a PhD on pain in young people with cerebral palsy.

She founded Body Buddies, a social enterprise that uses plush organ toys to teach children about their health – with the belief that every child deserves to understand their body and how to care for it.

She has served on numerous advisory groups focused on improving health and wellbeing for children and young people from diverse backgrounds.

TBM Belinda

Named after Belinda McKenzie – steam train driver and medical student – by Clayton North Primary School students

'I am so honoured to have been selected to have one of Suburban Rail Loop East’s tunnel boring machines named after me. Being unconventional and breaking new ground has been a bit of a theme in my life but I never imagined that it would lead to recognition on such a grand scale.'

Belinda McKenzie is currently studying medicine at Monash University. From climbing mountains in the Himalayas to competing in elite sports events, she enjoys taking on challenges.

In 2011, she left her job as a patent attorney to start working at the Puffing Billy Railway, where she learned how to operate the historic steam trains.

Training for 9 years, she became the first female to qualify to drive Puffing Billy, celebrating her achievement with the first all-female train crew in the railway’s history.

TBM Issy

Named after Isolde Piet – world’s first female TBM pilot – by Huntingdale Primary School students

'It’s a huge honour to have one of the tunnel boring machines on the project named after me, especially when I look at the other remarkable women recognised by this initiative. I can’t wait to get started on our section of tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, and it will be an especially nice moment to see TBM Issy launched.'

Isolde 'Issy' Piet was the first female TBM pilot in the world and will now be leading the world’s first all-women TBM crew as Construction Manager for the southern section of SRL East tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley.

With more than 20 years of experience in civil construction, Isolde has worked around the globe in the Netherlands, Turkey and more recently in Australia.

Her first role out of university was working on what was considered the largest tunnel at the time – the Groene Hart Tunnel.

TBM Muriel

Named after Aunty Muriel Bamblett AM – Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) CEO – by Clayton South Primary School students

'It is truly an honour to have the Suburban Rail Loop East tunnel boring machine named after myself given the many Victorian women this tradition has honoured in the past. I particularly want to thank the children of Clayton South Primary school for nominating me, an honour indeed. May the Saints continue to protect those who work underground.'

Muriel Bamblett is a Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung, Boon Wurrung Elder and has led VACCA as CEO since 1999.

She is driven by the desire to give children in care a connection to culture and is currently active in more than 30 Aboriginal community advisory groups.

Under Muriel’s leadership, VACCA has grown exponentially and is now one of the largest employers of Aboriginal people in the state.

TBMs for Glen Waverley to Box Hill

TBM Alice

Named after Alice Ivy – Melbourne music producer and musician – by Kerrimuir Primary School students

'Thank you very much for this honour, I absolutely dig it!'

Alice Ivy is a pioneering Melbourne female music producer with three albums and more than 100 million streams to her name.

Her 2020 album Don't Sleep, was nominated for Best Dance Release and Engineer of the Year at the ARIA Awards, as well as the Triple J Award for Australian Album of the Year.

Her Album Do What Makes You Happy was nominated for Best Engineered Release at the 2025 ARIA Awards.

Alice Ivy has toured with Billie Eilish, The Jungle Giants, San Cisco and The Rubens and played more than 400 shows in 4 continents.

TBM Bich-Cam

Named after Bich-Cam Nguyen OAM – founder of Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association and 2021 Senior Australian of the Year – by Essex Heights Primary School students

'Suburban Rail Loop East will help get you from A to B faster, causing less pollution and less time spent in traffic. Tunnel boring machines are certainly not boring! I’m very pleased to be part of this historic initiative.'

Bich-Cam Nguyen and her family arrived as refugees in Melbourne in July 1975. Cam started work a week after arrival and was still working full time until she retired in 2022 at the age of 82.

In January 1983, she motivated 15 Vietnamese refugee women to start a charity – the Australian Vietnamese Women's Association (AVWA) – to provide support services to disadvantaged refugees.

She was the CEO of AVWA, for 18 years. AVWA is now an organisation with 5 offices across Melbourne and 430 staff, offering a wide range of services for all ages and genders.

TBM Elizabeth

Named after Elizabeth Chong AM – celebrity chef, teacher and author – by Roberts McCubbin Primary School students

'Of all the honours I have been bestowed throughout my career, this one is quite a thrill – especially as I was chosen by children. I feel like I am now a permanent part of Australia’s history, that I have left a physical as well as emotional legacy.'

Elizabeth Chong is a famous Australian chef who loves to cook Chinese food. She was born in China and moved to Australia when she was young. Her dad was also a chef and created the dim sim.

As she grew up, Elizabeth started teaching people how to cook in her own cooking school. She shared her cooking tips and stories about Chinese traditions with Australia on TV.

Elizabeth Chong is a food hero and a teacher, bridging Australian and Chinese cultures.

TBM Hacia

Named after Hacia Atherton – founder of Empowered Women in Trades – by Glen Waverley Primary School students

'To know that young students are being introduced to women in trades, and that they resonated with my story, is honestly one of the most meaningful forms of recognition I could receive. It truly means the world not just to me personally, but as a recognition of the work the Empowered Women in Trades team and I have been doing to create change for women in the skilled trades sector.'

As the founder of Empowered Women in Trades, Hacia is on a mission to create a more inclusive future in construction where everyone can thrive.

From overcoming a life-changing horse riding accident in 2017, to leading a movement that empowers women, Hacia’s journey is all about resilience and inspiration.

She’s building a future where more women take up skilled trades in areas usually dominated by men.

FAQs

TBMs vary in dimension and are highly specialised pieces of machinery designed to excavate tunnels beneath the surface with customisation to suit underground conditions.

The TBM’s rotating cutterheads carve their way through soil and rock, creating tunnels that are safe, durable, and built to last for generations.

They are also equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation system, and facilities for workers, including an office, kitchen and toilets.

TBMs operate like moving underground factories, using their giant rotating cutting heads to grind and excavate rock and soil. As each TBM moves forward, it installs a concrete lining in its wake - forming the lining of the tunnel.

The SRL East twin tunnels will be constructed deep underground, at an average depth of 26 metres – or the equivalent of 6 storeys underground.

Cities around the world regularly build underground rail systems in densely populated urban areas, including Melbourne’s own Metro Tunnel.

With thousands of tunnels operating around the world and millions of people living above them with no impact on their daily lives, tunnels can be built safely and without affecting buildings and properties above ground.

TBMs can operate up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with expert crews managing their operations.

A TBM crew includes around 10 highly skilled roles, including the TBM operator, gantry and segment crane operators, grouters and support roles. All crew members receive specialised training, including spending time inside a special hyperbaric chamber to learn about working in pressurised conditions.

In a world first, one of the crews operating the TBMs for SRL East will be an all-women team.

The all-women crew will have a range of roles – each of which requires a specific skill set. All crew members well be suitably trained and qualified to perform their roles as part of this world-first initiative.

Tunnelling will start in 2026, and the all-women crew is expected to be tunnelling by 2027. At least 10 per cent of total labour hours on the southern section of the SRL tunnels will be worked by women.

TBMs will start tunnelling the 26km of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill from 2026, launching from sites at Burwood and Clarinda.

The TBMs for SRL East will travel up to 90m a week, depending on the ground conditions.

Trains will be taking passengers in 2035.

Once tunnelling on SRL is completed, the TBM have been designed to be disassembled from within the tunnel and brought to the surface. The TBM shield will remain in the ground.

Where possible, TBM parts will be recycled and re-used.