The first two TBMs have arrived for the Sydney Metro West project, ready to start construction on the new 24-km tunnels which will connect Greater Parramatta to the Sydney CBD.  

The two machines (165 m long, 1,300 t weigh and 7 m in diameter) have arrived at The Bays Station site which is in a new precinct 2km west of the Sydney central business district (CBD). Work on the tunnelling launch site began in November 2020. Four of Sydney Metro West's six TBMs will being their journeys from this site.  

The TBMs - ordered by Acciona Construction Australia and Ferrovial Construction Joint Venture (AF JV) from Herrenknecht at the start of this year - will be the first ones in the ground for the project and will carve out 11-km twin tunnels from The Bays to Sydney Olympic Park, with an average of 200 m per week, with around 15 workers per shift operating each TBM 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The machines have 38-disc cutters per cutterhead, each more than 48cm in diameter.  

These TBMs include refurbished parts from the mega boring machines used on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project. The cutterheads, front shields and gripper shields were originally used for the TBMs that dug the metro tunnels from Chatswood to Blues Point.  

The TBMs are due to start tunnelling from ‘The Bays’ in the first half of 2023 and are expected arrive in Sydney Olympic Park in late 2024.  

When Sydney Metro West opens in 2030 it will double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, link new communities to rail services and support employment growth and housing supply.   

Major works have now also started at the Sydney Olympic Park metro station. Excavation is underway on the 200m long, 37m wide and 27m deep station box, which will take 13 months to complete.  

Sydney Metro West recently received planning approval for the final 3.5km eastern tunnel section between the Bays and Sydney CBD.  

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