A $1.7 billion contract has been awarded to build the northern section of twin tunnels between Glen Waverley and Box Hill, as part of the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East project.
The successful bidder, Terra Verde is a global consortium of Webuild, GS Engineering and Construction, and Bouygues Construction Australia – all with deep experience here and overseas, including on the Metro Tunnel Project, North East Link, the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth, and Grand Paris Express.
Commissioned by Suburban Rail Loop Authority, the joint venture will excavate two parallel tunnels of nearly 10 kilometres, between the future stations of Box Hill and Glen Waverley.
As well as oversee the creation of 39 cross passages between them, two station boxes, two tunnel access shafts and one intervention and ventilation shaft. The tunnels will be excavated using tunnel-boring machines (TBMs).
Suburban Rail Loop is a 90-kilometre orbital rail line that will help transform the way Melbourne grows, improving travel efficiency for more than 80 per cent of Melburnians and take more than 600,000 cars off the roads every day.
Tunnels North is the second major construction contract awarded for SRL East, after the contract for the southern section of tunnels was awarded last year.
The three other main works contracts are well progressed, with three shortlisted bidders to build the six underground stations, and two bidders vying for the Linewide contract – which includes building the trains, fitout of the tunnels and operation of the network.
The first stage, SRL East, is now under construction, with tunnelling to start in 2026 and trains taking passengers in 2035.
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