Major construction continue to ramp up on Sydney Metro West

The delivery of Sydney Metro West continues to ramp up as crews prepare to re-launch two massive tunnel boring machines (TBMs) – Daphne and Beatrice – over the coming weeks. 

The TBMs are now making their way from the Five Dock Metro Station site to the Burwood North Station site. Meanwhile, hundreds of pre-cast tunnel segments have been delivered to The Bays Station site, ready to be installed as tunnelling progresses 90 metres below Sydney’s inner west. 

Over 250 pre-cast tunnel segments are expected to be transported each day from The Bays via the newly built tunnels under Iron Cove to Five Dock where they will meet the two TBMs. 

TBMs Daphne and Beatrice were launched last year from the western side of The Bays Station and have greatly progressed their tunnelling journey, including installing about 30,700 of 150,000 segments that line the new tunnel walls. 

Works are also progressing to prepare a 32-metre-deep station box at the eastern end of The Bays site where two new TBMs will be launched to tunnel under Darling Harbour and make their way towards the City starting mid-2024. 

The new TBMs are the final two of six massive tunnelling machines for Sydney Metro West. 

Another supersized shed located on the western side of The Bays site is utilised as storage for excavated material transferred from the TBMs on conveyor belts. The shed has a maximum capacity of 40,000 tonnes of material, which is continuously being moved for reuse on other sites across Sydney. 

The Bays is one of the priority precincts – as announced by the New South Wales Government – to be rezoned to enable a major new housing uplift. 

The Bay Metro Station is bringing rail service to the area for the first time, and it will support the renewal of the harbourside precinct. 

“Our Metro Review has ensured a new and improved Sydney Metro West will be delivered for the people of NSW, with a focus on driving housing supply. 

“The Bays is in full tunnelling mode and teams here are laser-focused on constructing this new metro line that will deliver unrivalled public transport for all of Sydney. 

“The benefits of this city-shaping mega project extend beyond fast, reliable travel. Sydney Metro West will transform communities, act as a catalyst for new housing and support new precincts like at The Bays which hasn’t previously been serviced by a rail connection,” Transport Minister Jo Haylen said. 

Sydney Metro West is delivering a new 24-kilometre metro line that will connect Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD while linking new communities to rail services and supporting employment growth and housing supply. 

Key features of Sydney Metro West include: 

• Faster, more frequent access to major employment and education centres like Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park 
• A new metro station in the heart of the Sydney CBD commercial centre, connecting directly to Sydney’s established and growing employment precincts 
• A new metro station at Westmead – one of Australia’s largest health and education precincts 
• Delivering new rail services for the first time at Burwood North, Five Dock, The Bays and Pyrmont 
• A new metro station at Sydney Olympic Park – Sydney’s sporting and entertainment super-precinct 
• A new metro station at Pyrmont – delivering major benefits to the Pyrmont community and supporting plans to transform this harbourside suburb 
• Integrated with the rest of Sydney’s public transport system 
• Fully accessible with lifts and level access between trains and platforms 
• Next generation fully air-conditioned metro trains 
• All Sydney Metro infrastructure like the stations, trains and railway tracks are owned by the NSW Government 
• Sydney Metro uses Opal ticketing and fares are set by the NSW Government 

The transformative Sydney Metro West project is due to be completed by 2032 and it is expected to create up to 10,000 direct and 70,000 indirect jobs during its construction phase. 

Source: NSW Government – Media Releases; Sydney Metro (1, 2)