Second tunnelling contract awarded for Suburban Rail Loop East

A $1.7 billion tunnelling works contract on the transformative Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East project in Victoria has been officially awarded to Terra Verde. 

This consortium is comprised of Webuild, GS Engineering and Construction, and Bouygues Construction Australia. Terra Verde was announced as the preferred bidder for the Tunnels North contract earlier this year. 

The awarding of the Tunnels North contract marks another major project milestone as early works continue to ramp up across the project. 

Terra Verde will build the northern section of the twin tunnels for SRL East between Glen Waverley and Box Hill. In addition to building the 10-kilometre parallel tunnels, the consortium will also construct 39 cross passages between the tunnels, two station boxes, two tunnel access shafts, and one intervention and ventilation shaft. 

The tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will dig the northern section of the twin tunnels will be launched from the Burwood site. It will travel south to Glen Waverley in 2026 and then travel north towards Box Hill later on. 

The first four TBMs that will be used to build the SRL East tunnels are on track to begin arriving on site next year. 

Tunnels North is the second major construction contract awarded for SRL East. The contract for the southern section of tunnels was awarded in 2023. 

The delivery of SRL East is progressing well, with early works already underway at all six station sites alongside the train stabling facility in Heatherton. Major construction on the new station and transport super hub at Clayton is due to commence in the coming weeks. 

Subrban Rail Loop map (source: Victoria's Big Build)

SRL East is expected to create up to 8,000 direct jobs during its construction, with over 1,500 people already working on the project. 

The overall Suburban Rail Loop development will deliver a 90-kilometres orbital rail line that will provide a direct link to Melbourne Airport, helping relieve congestion on local roads and other transport networks while also connecting people to key destinations across the city. 

SRL is being built in four sections, namely: 

• SRL East – Cheltenham to Box Hill 

• SRL North – Box Hill to Melbourne Airport 

• SRL Airport – Melbourne Airport to Sunshine (delivered by Rail Projects Victoria) 

• SRL West – Sunshine to Werribee 

Both SRL East and Airport are already under construction, with SRL Airport expected to be completed in 2029 and SRL East in 2035. Meanwhile, planning for SRL North and West are advancing. 

Three other main works contracts for SRL East are already well progressed. Three shortlisted bidders have been announced to build the six underground stations, and two bidders are vying for the Linewide contract – which includes building the trains, tunnel fit-out and network operations. 

Source: Victoria’s Big Build (1, 2, 3); Infrastructure Magazine; Webuild Group