The New South Wales Government has shortlisted three consortia to deliver the Eastern Tunnelling package for Sydney Metro West project, which includes 3.5 kilometres of twin tunnels under Sydney Harbour between The Bays and the Sydney CBD. Read more
Cross River Rail tunnelling completed
Queensland’s biggest ever infrastructure project has reached a massive milestone with the final mega machine breaking through at the Northern Portal near the Inner City Bypass, marking the end of tunnelling for the project. Read more
Christmas frenzy for Auckland metro network
KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and City Rail Link are finalising plans for an unprecedented Christmas works program to improve and upgrade the Auckland metro rail network. Read more
Enabling works for Sydney Metro West at Parramatta EOI released
Sydney Metro is seeking expressions of interest for early works to prepare Parramatta for the construction of Sydney Metro West. Read more
Work begins on Sydney Metro West
Early works have begun on Sydney Metro West, with site preparation works at the site of the future Bays Station underway. Read more
Tunnelling works progress at Karangahape station site
Tunnel mining has begun at the site of the future Karangahape Station with a large excavator brought in to create a 15 metre long connection to the caverns of the future station.
Machinery is digging out the short tunnel from the temporary access shaft, 18 metres deep.
Dale Burtenshaw, deputy alliance director for Link Alliance said the connection would be critical.
“This connection is short, but it will become an important and busy ‘construction artery’ for us providing access for people, machines and material,” he said.
Once the 9.5 metre wide and 8m high arch-shaped tunnel is excavated a roadaheader will finish the connection before beginning to dig out the station platform tunnels.
“It’s a clear sign of work ramping up. Our focus is very much on welcoming the Tunnel Boring Machine at Karangahape Station at the end of next year on the first leg of its journey from Mt Eden,” said Burtenshaw.
When complete, Karangahape will be New Zealand’s deepest underground station at up to 35 metres underground. The station will be 217 metres long to accommodate nine-car trains.
Here the tunnel boring machine will arrive after carving out the twin tunnels from Mt Eden Station.
To ensure construction and earth mining noises are limited, a unique acoustically insulated noise enclosure will encase the access shaft.
“The noise enclosure is a bit like a silencer on a car, reducing the impact of construction at street level in a busy part of the city around Karangahape Road,” Burtenshaw said. “The enclosure muffles construction noise and gives us the flexibility to work longer hours to get the job underground done without disturbing neighbours living and working around us.”
Other work such as the installation of reinforced concrete panels are also underway along with utilities relocation. Plunge columns through the centre of Beresford Square are also beginning to be installed to support floor slabs during construction.
Roadheader gets to work on Cross River Rail
Tunnelling has officially begun on Cross River Rail, with the first roadheader assembled and digging out underneath Roma Street.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the occasion marked a major step for the Brisbane rail project.
“Above ground demolition has also been underway for several months at the site of the new station – but today is a huge milestone for this project as we start tunnelling for the first time,” she said.
“This is just the beginning of the underground works, with 5.9 kilometres of twin tunnels and four underground stations to be excavated in total.”
The roadheader was assembled at the site, 18 metres below ground, and is beginning to excavate the 280m long station cavern.
Now underway, the roadheader can excavate up to 50 tonnes of rock and soil an hour, with disruption protected by the acoustic shed at ground level, which stands five storeys high and is 60m long.
Local Queensland company QMW was involved in the manufacture of the roadheader, supplying the cabs. The locally made cabs and remaining five pieces were lowered into the shaft with a gantry crane and then put together underground.
The 22 metre long and 115 tonne roadheader is the first of two machines that will be working at Roma Street.
As work underground progresses, more and more people are working at the various Cross River Rail sites. Already 1,800 people are employed as part of the project, with the total expected to reach 3,000 when the project is at its construction peak in two years.
State Development Minister Kate Jones said that the project is critical to Queensland’s economy.
“Multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects like Cross River Rail are vital to Queensland’s economic recovery following COVID-19,” she said.
“Coronavirus has had a huge impact on our economy. But we won’t let it derail Queensland’s largest infrastructure project.”
Once complete, Cross River Rail will include 5.9km of tunnels and four underground stations. Roma Street station will be 27 metres below ground and replaces the former Hotel Jen building and Brisbane Transit Centre.
Currently, one floor a week of the Hotel Jen is being demolished.
1,800-strong workforce on site for CRR construction
A workforce of 1,800 people has been continuing to progress the Cross River Rail project, even as social distancing measures have been in place to limit the spread or outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).
A pedestrian bridge at the Roma Street site has been removed, and demolition is continuing of the former Hotel Jen building.
Demolition of two blocks in the Brisbane CBD has also been finished. The blocks will allow for the construction of a new station at Albert Street. There, piling works and the construction of an acoustic shed are underway as work begins on the underground station box.
Piling works for the dive site at Woolloongabba for the tunnel boring machines are also completed. Excavation of the launch area will now get underway.
Work has also started on the northern tunnel portal, between Roma Street and Exhibition stations.
Piling at Boggo Road is also making strides, with 100 out of the 150 piles installed for the station box.
According to a statement from Cross River Rail the continuation of work during the COVID-19 restrictions has had a wider effect on the Queensland economy, with manufacturers and construction supply companies benefiting from works not being halted. Subcontractors carrying out works on each of the sites have also directly benefited.
Safety precautions and social distancing measures have been in place at all sites, with extra hygiene protocols adhered to.
EIS for Sydney Metro West released, Rydalmere station dropped
The NSW government has released the first environmental impact statement (EIS) for Sydney Metro West, scrapping a proposed station at Rydalmere.
The EIS provides more detail on the route which will connect the Parramatta and Sydney CBDs. The EIS covers the section from Westmead to the Bays Precinct.
A separate EIS will be released for the section from the Bays Precinct to the Sydney CBD, with the location of a station in the CBD still to be confirmed. A station in Pyrmont is still listed as “optional”.
With the removal of the optional station at Rydalmere, the distance between consecutive stations Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park would be between eight and nine kilometres, depending on the alignment. Most metro systems globally have an average distance between stops of between 1.2 and 1.3km.
The EIS outlines where the main works will be undertaken for civil construction works, including tunnelling, and excavation for stations. Major work sites will be established at Westmead, Parramatta between Macquarie Street and George Street, Clyde – where a stabling facility will be built, Burwood North, and the Bays Precinct. Two tunnel boring machines will each begin at The Bays and Westmead, with all four being extracted at the site in Sydney Olympic Park.
Releasing the EIS, NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said that Metro West is a “once in a century” project.
“It’s been almost 100 years since the Harbour Bridge transformed Sydney. Now this underground Metro is going to be the modern day game changer for our city, serving us for decades to come.”
The EIS proposes to ease the pressure on the existing heavy rail system from population growth in Western Sydney, which is forecast to grow to 3.2 million people by 2036, by diverting commuters from the T1 Western Line, T9 Northern Line and the T2 Inner West and Leppington Line.
The EIS estimates a drop in customer numbers at some of Sydney’s busiest stations. It finds that there will be a 32 per cent fall in customer numbers on the T1 Western Line at Parramatta by 2036, a 36 per cent reduction at Strathfield, and a 35 per cent reduction at Redfern. This will cut crowing by roughly 30 per cent at North Strathfield, Strathfield, Redfern, and Burwood stations.
In addition, Sydney Metro West proposes faster travel times between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, with services targeted to take 20 minutes. The line will also increase the number of services, from 56 trains an hour to 116, increasing capacity from 65,440 customers an hour to 157,600 customers.
The NSW government has released an expression of interest for contractors to deliver the twin tunnels between Westmead and The Bays.
TBM Sandy breaks through at Bayswater
Tunnelling is complete on the Forrestfield-Airport Link, part of the Metronet project in Western Australia.
On April 20, tunnel boring machine Sandy broke through at the Bayswater dive structure. WA Premier Mark McGowan said that the completion of tunnelling is a “major milestone” for WA.
“While Western Australia has been grappling with COVID-19, TBM Sandy and the project team have been continuing to work on this incredible project for Perth.”
The breakthrough ended 900 days of tunnelling under Perth Airport and the Swan River, creating 16 kilometres of tunnels, two twin 8km tunnels.
Now that tunnelling is finished, track will start to be laid from July 2020. The track slab is half installed while construction and fit out of the station buildings continues.
“In times like these it’s important we continue to progress projects that will provide work for local businesses and keep workers in their jobs, ultimately supporting the State’s wider economy,” said McGowan.
The tunnels, made with 9,000 tunnel rings comprising 54,000 locally made concrete segments, link three stations, Forrestfield, Airport Central, and Redcliffe to the wider rail network.
WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti thanked those who have worked on the project so far.
“In July 2017, Premier Mark McGowan and I were at the Forrestfield Station site to mark the start of tunnelling on the Forrestfield-Airport Link,” she said.
“Thank you to the tunnelling team and other workers who delivered TBM Sandy to her destination and helped achieved this major milestone.”
The $1.86bn Forrestfield-Airport Link provides over 700 jobs in Western Australia, and is one of six Metronet projects underway in 2020.
The tunnelling for the Forrestfield-Airport Link was conducted by a joint venture of Salini Impregilo and NRW Civil and Mining which won the design and construct contract, along with a 10 year maintenance contract, in April 2016.