Three contractors shortlisted for Sydney Metro West tunnelling works

Sydney Metro is gearing towards delivering the final piece of tunnelling work for the Sydney Metro West development with the announcement of three shortlisted consortia to undertake the Eastern Tunnelling Package. 

The three shortlisted consortia include: 

• Acciona Construction Australia Pty Ltd and Ferrovial Construction (Australia) Pty Ltd joint venture (AF JV) 
• Bouygues Construction Australia Pty Ltd, Vinci Construction Grands Projects Australia Pty Ltd and Soletanche Bachy International joint venture (BV JV) 
• John Holland Pty Ltd, CPB Contractors Pty Ltd and Ghella Pty Ltd joint venture (JCG JV) 

The Eastern Tunnelling Package will include a 3.5-kilometre twin tunnels under Sydney Harbour between The Bays and Sydney CBD along with excavation of Pyrmont and Hunter Street stations. 

Tunnel boring machines will dig under Johnstons Bay alongside Anzac Bridge then head to the new Pyrmont Station. From then, tunnelling will continue under Darling Harbour and end at Hunter Street – between Wynyard and Martin Place – in the heart of the CBD. 

The contract for the Eastern Tunnelling Package is anticipated to be awarded by the end of 2022. 

Tunnelling and excavation works on the Sydney Metro West development have been separated into geographically specific packages between Westmead and the CBD due to the scale of the project. The Central Tunnelling Package was awarded to the Acciona Ferrovial joint venture, and the Western Tunnelling Package is set to be awarded soon. 

“Sydney Metro West will double rail capacity between greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, with a target travel time of about 20 minutes between the two centres. 

“The project will deliver metro rail to new parts of Sydney, cut crowding on three major train lines and take tens of thousands of cars off the roads every day,” Sydney Metro said in a statement. 

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 

Works on this massive development commenced in 2020 at The Bays and tunnel boring machines are set to begin digging by the end of this year. Metro Sydney West is on track to be completed in 2030. 

Source: NSW Government – Sydney Metro (1, 2); Australia New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline; Roads & Infrastructure Australia; Trenchless Australasia