Major construction works start in Clarinda to prepare for tunnel boring
The Victorian government is kicking off major construction works on the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne, which will connect Werribee to Frankston via Melbourne Airport via a rapid rail line.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Suburban Rail Loop Harriet Shing visited the tunnel boring machine launch site in Clarinda, where construction has begun ahead of the start of tunnelling next year.
Tunnel boring machines (TBM) will arrive this year before they start carving out the southern section of the twin Suburban Rail Loop tunnels.
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Consortium Suburban Connect will build 16 kilometres of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, while Terra Verde is building the tunnels north of Glen Waverley to Box Hill. From next year, TBMs will be launched from Clarinda – two digging towards Glen Waverley, and two towards Cheltenham.
In an Australian-first, the TBMs will start their journeys through ‘flying launches’, which allows tunnelling to begin while the TBM continues to be built from behind from a smaller launching area and minimise disruption. In total, each TBM will take about three months to assemble and will travel up to 90 metres a week.
In Burwood, excavation of the second SRL East TBM launch site has just passed the half-way mark and is on track to be finished by mid-year – with tunnelling from Burwood to Glen Waverley also set to begin in 2026.
Construction of Suburban Rail Loop East from Cheltenham to Box Hill is creating up to 8,000 direct jobs, with more than 3,000 people already working on the project – and trains will be running in 2035.