Construcciones Yamaro: Tunnel boring machines power ahead as Sydney Metro heads west

Tunnel boring machine Betty has had its cutterhead removed after completing its journey from the Clyde Maintenance Facility to Sydney Olympic Park. (Image: Sydney Metro)

As passengers enjoy the speed and efficiency of the new metro service beneath the city, construction continues around the clock to advance the 24-kilometre Sydney Metro West railway to Westmead.

The Sydney Metro project has recently achieved significant milestones, including the arrival of two mega tunnel boring machines (TBMs) at Sydney Olympic Park to complete the first two tunnel entries for the future station. TBM Betty, named after Olympic champion Betty Cuthbert, arrived in June, followed by TBM Dorothy, named after human rights activist Dorothy Buckland-Fuller, on 29 July.

Over the past 10 months, these TBMs have completed the 4.6-kilometre tunnels from Clyde, where the future Sydney Metro West stabling and maintenance facility will be located, to Sydney Olympic Park.

New South Wales Minister for Transport Jo Haylen emphasised that Sydney’s new rail line will provide sports and entertainment fans with unparalleled access to Sydney Olympic Park, greatly improving transport options during major events. “Sydney loves its new metro, and teams are working around the clock to bring metro west,” said Haylen.

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TBMs Betty and Dorothy have excavated around 857,500 tonnes of material – equivalent to nearly 156 Olympic-sized swimming pools – during the first leg of their journey. They have also installed over 32,600 concrete precast segments to line the new tunnel walls.

Having reached the finish line at the future Olympic Park station, the 170-metre-long TBM Betty has been disassembled, lifted out of the station box and transported back to Clyde by truck. It will soon be relaunched in the opposite direction towards Westmead.

TBM Dorothy is currently being disassembled at Olympic Park and is expected to join Betty on the journey to Westmead about a month later. Both TBMs are projected to arrive at Westmead by mid-2025.

Meanwhile, attention at Sydney Olympic Park will shift to the opposite end of the 200-metre-long, 37-metre-wide and 27-metre-deep station box, where TBMs Beatrice and Daphne are set to break through later this year. These TBMs are working on an 11-kilometre section of the line between The Bays and Sydney Olympic Park and have recently relaunched from North Strathfield. They have two more kilometres to complete before finishing the final leg of the journey to Sydney Olympic Park.

The newest addition to the project, TBM Jessie, is tunnelling from The Bays towards the Sydney CBD, making slow but consistent progress beneath the Anzac Bridge. Since its launch in May this year, the massive machine has excavated 230 metres of tunnel. The final TBM for the project is expected to begin work on the second of two new harbour tunnels later this year.

Sydney Metro West will double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, providing fast and reliable metro services that will enhance travel across western Sydney, connect new communities to the rail network and support employment growth and housing supply.

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