Contractor Thiess has recently signed a contract with Lovat for the supply of a refurbished RME147SE series 22000 single shield rock TBM to be used in the construction of the City West Cable Tunnel (CWCT) in Sydney. The 3.72 m-diameter TBM will bore the 1,560 m-long tunnel from the Marry Ann Street shaft to the City North substation, along a maximum slope of 3.05%. The entire tunnel alignment is below the groundwater level, with groundwater heights above the tunnel invert varying from 5 to 24 metres. Depth of cover above the tunnel crown will vary from 19 to 37 metres. The tunnel will be located within the Triassic Hawkesbury sandstone, which consists of sandstone beds interbedded with siltstone, mudstone and shale. Other geological conditions expected are near vertical dolerite intrusions, typically weathered to residual clays at the rock surface with the sandstone on either side of a dyke baked and fractured by the intrusion. A number of near vertical zones of faulting, or closely spaced joints, have been identified in the project area. One of them, the GPO fault zone, is expected to intersect the proposed tunnel alignment. After undergoing a complete refurbishment at Lovat's facilities in Europe, the TBM will be shipped to Australia for assembly prior to year's end. The tunnel will predominantly be constructed using the TBM, with a small 100 metre section to be excavated by roadheader. Construction of the tunnel itself is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. This will be followed by the tunnel fit out and the installation of electrical cables. The new tunnel is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2009. Visit www.lovat.com, www.thiess.com.au and www.energy.com.au/energy/ea.nsf/Content/Network+Sydney+CBD+Eastern+Suburbs 22/07.