The completion of tunnelling at the western end of the Sydney Metro West line saw 790,000 tonnes of earth removed
Tunnelling has been completed at the western end of the Sydney Metro West line, with tunnel boring machine Betty (TBM) reaching what will become Westmead station.
Once complete, the railway line will connect Westmead to the Sydney CBD through Parramatta, Olympic Park and Five Dock in just in a 22-minute trip, the NSW government says.
The TBM worked for two years at a progress rate of about 200 metres a week to build the nine-kilometre tunnel from Sydney Olympic Park.
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It removed 790,000 tonnes of earth during that time – enough to fill 130 Olympic swimming pools – and lined the tunnel walls with 30,000 concrete segments along the way.
“With this breakthrough at what will become Westmead station, we are well on the way with this city shaping piece of transport infrastructure,” NSW premier Chris Minns says.
“20 minutes from the centre of the city to the heart of Parramatta – this will change the way Sydney grows and works into the future.”
At the other end of the Metro West line, the first of two TBMs has started cutting its way underneath Darling Harbour to complete the final section of the eastern end of the future Sydney Metro West.