Four giant Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are needed to dig
the Metro Tunnel.
Lowered into the ground at North Melbourne and St Kilda Road
in pieces and then assembled, they operate as moving factories travelling deep
under Melbourne.
TBMs perform two main tasks:
- Excavating
rock and soil with a rotating cutter head at the front of the machine
before it is transported via pipes running through and behind the TBM.
- Progressively
installing curved concrete segments to create a watertight lining inside
the tunnels.
Track their journey
Our first TBM is making its way across the sea to
Melbourne, track
its progress on our tracker.
For more information please visit https://metrotunnel.vic.gov.au/ .02/19