The Leighton / Kumagai team is the preferred proponent for the New MetroRail City Project, which involves design and construction of tunnels and underground stations in the Perth Central Business District. The contractor will be responsible for all design and construction, as well as maintenance of underground structures and electrical and mechanical services for 10 years after completion. The total length of the route through Perth is 2.2 km. It includes 700 m of twin bored tunnel constructed using a TBM and 700 m of cut-and-cover tunnel. New underground stations at William Street, Esplanade and Perth Station. The tunnel along the Perth foreshore will be constructed using the cut-and-cover method. From Esplanade station through the city, twin tunnels will be bored deep below William Street, using the TBM. The cut-and-cover method will again be used on the final section of the tunnel which will connect to the Joondalup Line. Contract award expected by early 2004 for completion in mid 2006. Visit www.newmetrorail.wa.gov.au, www.pta.wa.gov.au and www.leighton.com.au 48/03.A new 60 m-long, 300 tonne, 6.9 m-diameter Mitsubishi EPB TBM has been installed in Perth to bore the first of a twin bored tunnel, 744 m in length, which forms part of the southern suburbs railway to Mandurah, 75 km south of Perth. The TBM will install precast concreting rings, manufactured locally by Humes. The lining consists of six segments (5 plus the key). The internal diameter is 6,160 mm. The first tunnel will be driven between October 2005 and early 2006. The TBM will then be taken apart and reassembled at the new below ground station at The Esplanade for the second tunnel drive in 2006. Tunnelling will continue 24 hours a day until completed. The TBM will cut through a mixture of sand and clay. Approximately 100,000 cu m of earth will be removed during the tunnelling process, using Schoema equipment. The machine is the 1,649th TBM manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The tunnel, which forms part of a 2.2 km section, has cut-and-cover sections at each end, for a total length of about 700 m. Visit www.newmetrorail.wa.gov.au/Default.aspx?tabid=197, www.leighton.com.au, www.mhi.co.jp/tekken/e/index.htm, www.schoema-locos.de and www.humes.com.au 41/05.