Major construction has started on the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) in Victoria, with works underway to build a large tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch site in Clarinda.
The TBMs will start arriving on site later this year, before tunneling kicks off in 2026. In total, each TBM will take about three months to assemble.
Consortium Suburban Connect will build 16km of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, while Terra Verde is building the tunnels north of Glen Waverley to Box Hill.
Four TBMs will be launched from Clarinda, with two digging towards Glen Waverley, and two towards Cheltenham. They will travel up to 90m a week.
In a first for Australia, the TBMs will start their journeys through ‘flying launches’, which means tunnelling can begin while the TBM continues to be built from behind from a smaller launching area.
In Burwood, excavation of a second SRL East TBM launch site is well underway, with tunnelling also starting from that site in 2026.
As both a transport and an urban planning project, the Suburban Rail Loop will link every major train service from the Frankston Line to the Werribee Line via Melbourne Airport.
Transport “super hubs” will also be built at Clayton, Broadmeadows and Sunshine, allowing regional passengers to bypass the CBD.
Read more: Hundreds share feedback on draft structure plans for SRL East
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