On 25/07/2023 the 1,066-t TBM Eileen reached the Airport Terminal metro station site, marking the first tunnel breakthrough for the city-shaping Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project.   

Since launching at Airport Business Park in April 2023, Eileen has worked around the clock to excavate around 112,000 t of rock, with an advancement of 120 m per week to build 1.26 km of fully lined tunnel, which completes the first leg of its 5.5-km journey towards the Aerotropolis.   

It took about five months to dig out about 293,000 t of rock to build the 25-m-deep Airport Terminal Station box to prepare for TBM Eileen’s arrival.  

The TBM will now traverse the station box before being relaunched to tunnel under the future Western Sydney International Airport, where it's expected to arrive at the Aerotropolis metro station site in 2024.   

A total of four TBMs will build the twin metro tunnels for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line, with three TBMs already in the ground.    

The Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport line will be operational when Western Sydney International Airport opens for passenger services.  

For further on the project click here, au/11  for the tunnelbuilder archive, visit https://www.ghella.com/en/media/news/tbm-eileen-completes-first-historic-breakthrough-sydney-metro-western-sydney-airport,
  https://www.sydneymetro.info, and https://www.sydneymetro.info/westernsydneyairportline. 30/23.