The TBMs Daphne and Beatrice are driving the tunnels from The Bays to Sydney Olympic Park as part of Sydney Metro West: TBM Daphne already 327 m into its 11-km journey from The Bays to Sydney Olympic Park, and TBM Beatrice 373 m into its journey on the parallel tunnel. Click here to track TBM Daphne and Beatrice’s journeys. The TBMs use 3.8-t concrete segments (six for each ring) to line the tunnels.
TBM Daphne has been named in honour of pioneer for Paralympic sport Daphne Hilton. Daphne Hilton was one of the most successful Australian athletes of all time and a trailblazer for women in sport. Daphne competed in three Paralympic Games between 1960 and 1968 and set a record that is unlikely to ever be broken— winning 14 medals across five different sports including athletics, swimming, archery, table tennis and fencing.
TBM Beatrice’s namesake is iconic local newspaper seller Beatrice Bush who sold newspapers for over 25 years from the traffic island at the intersection of Victoria Road and The Crescent in White Bay. It is estimated she sold five million papers between 1971 to 1996, passing away six days after she sold her last paper. Her life inspired songwriters, filmmakers, sculptors and painters.
Along with TBM excavation, construction of the tunnels includes activities like the construction of cross passages and crossover caverns. Construction of the twin metro tunnels from The Bays to Sydney Olympic Park is part of the Central Tunnelling Package awarded in July 2021 to the Acciona Ferrovial Joint Venture. Sydney Metro West will double the rail capacity between Sydney’s two biggest CBDs once passenger services commence in 2030.
On May 2023 two of three roadheaders had also started excavating tunnels that will connect the 24-km Sydney Metro West line to a new stabling and maintenance facility at Clyde. The 120-t, 4.8-m high and 4.5-m wide roadheaders were lowered into a temporary access shaft at Clyde, which is approximately 28-m below the surface. A large 750-t mobile crane carefully lowered each roadheader into the shaft in pieces, with the heaviest load weighing just over 92-tonnes. It then took two days to assemble each machine. The final roadheader will soon be assembled to help excavate the tunnels and two junction caverns that will allow trains to move from the underground railway tunnels to be stabled and undergo routine maintenance as required. It will take around 13 months for the roadheaders to excavate the tunnels and junction caverns.
For more information about Sydney Metro West click here and au/11 for tunnelbuilder archive and visit visit https://www.sydneymetro.info. 29/23.
