Halfway mark reached on Airport Metro northern tunnels
06.03.2024
Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are halfway to St Marys after each building 2.4 kilometres of tunnel for the game-changing Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project.
TBMs Catherine and Marlene reached the milestone when they broke through at the Claremont Meadows services facility shaft, after launching at the Orchard Hills Station site in July and August 2023 respectively.
Tunnelling at an average speed of 120 metres a week, the TBMs are carving out the twin 4.3-kilometre tunnels to the new St Marys Metro Station site.
They have removed 600,000 tonnes of spoil so far, enough to fill about 95 Olympic swimming pools, and installed 17,820 precast concrete segments as they tunnelled under the M4 Motorway to the 21-metre-deep services shaft.
The TBMs have now traversed the 16-metre-diameter services shaft, which is used to supply materials like concrete and steel and have been relaunched to complete their journey. They are expected to reach St Marys in mid-2024.
A further two TBMs, Eileen and Peggy, are building the two 5.5-kilometre southern tunnels from Airport Business Park to the Aerotropolis.
When the new metro line opens, passengers will have a world-class transport option directly to the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport and major job hubs, including the new Aerotropolis.
The Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line is targeting to be operational when the new international airport opens for passenger services, with the end-to-end journey time between the St Marys Metro Station and Aerotropolis Station to take around 20 minutes.
Visit /westernsydneyairportline for more information about the project.