Construction of SRL East powering ahead, with preparations well underway for SRL East tunnelling to start in 2026.
Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are 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.
About Burwood
Four TBMs will launch from Burwood – 2 will tunnel towards Glen Waverley and 2 towards Box Hill.
Excavation of the first TBM launch site is powering ahead in Burwood, in preparation for the start of tunnelling towards Glen Waverley in 2026, with crews digging a 19m deep, 38m long and 29m wide space.
A second launch site will then be built for the TBMs which will head north to Box Hill.
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.
About the TBMs
The 4 TBMs for the southern section of tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley will be supplied by Herrenknecht, one of the world’s leading manufacturers.
Each TBM will be 7.24m in diameter and between 100 and 150m long.
Two of the machines will be remanufactured after being used on the Sydney Metro project – significantly reducing the carbon footprint of SRL East. All TBMs will be powered by 100% renewable electricity.
The 2 TBMs travelling north from Clarinda to Glen Waverley will be slurry machines, designed for mixed ground conditions. The 2 TBMs travelling to Cheltenham will be convertible – they will be slurry machines from Clarinda to the stabling facility in Heatherton, then be converted to earth pressure balance machines to suit the ground conditions to Cheltenham.
The first of 4 TBMs for the northern section will launch from Burwood in 2026, and will travel south to Glen Waverley. TBMs for the section between Burwood and Box Hill will launch at a later date.
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