Sydney Metro West’s first two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have arrived at The Bays Station site, from where they will carve out 11-kilometre twin tunnels to Sydney Olympic Park.

These TBMs include refurbished parts from those used on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project. The cutterheads, front shields and gripper shields were originally used for the TBMs that dug tunnels from Chatswood to Blues Point.

The arrival of the front shield

The newly arrived TBMs will operate 24 hours a day and will excavate an average of 200 metres per week.

They are due to start tunnelling from The Bays in the first half of 2023 and will arrive in Sydney Olympic Park in late 2024.

The TBM cutterheads

Each TBM weighs almost 1,300 tonnes is 165 metres in length.

When Sydney Metro West opens in 2030 it will double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, while also connecting new communities to rail services.

The tender process for the Sydney Metro West Tunnel began in April 2020 after the infrastructure project was announced in 2017.

source= https://railway-news.com/sydney-metro-west-welcomes-first-tunnel-boring-machines/