Construction of the new 24km Sydney Metro West railway to Westmead is forging ahead, with a slew of tunnelling milestones achieved so far.

The project has seen 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, was first to arrive at Sydney Olympic Park in June and was followed by TBM Dorothy, named after human rights activist Dorothy Buckland-Fuller, on 29 July.

The TBMs have spent ten months completing the 4.6km tunnels from Clyde, where the future Sydney Metro West stabling and maintenance facility will be located, to reach Sydney Olympic Park.

TBMs Betty and Dorothy have excavated approximately 857,500 tonnes of material, equivalent to nearly 156 Olympic-sized swimming pools, to complete the first leg in the journey and have installed more than 32,600 concrete precast segments along the way to line the new tunnel walls.

Having reached the finish line at the future Olympic Park station, 170m long TBM Betty has been disassembled, lifted out of the station box and transported on trucks back to Clyde, where she will be relaunched in the opposite direction towards Westmead.

TBM Dorothy’s disassembly at Olympic Park is ongoing, but is expected to join Betty on their journey to Westmead a month later. Both TBMs are expected to arrive at Westmead in mid-2025.

The focus at Sydney Olympic Park will now shift to the opposite end of the 200m-long, 37m-wide, and 27m-deep station box, where TBMs Beatrice and Daphne are due to break through later this year.

TBMs Beatrice and Daphne are building a 11km section of the line between The Bays and Sydney Olympic Park and have recently relaunched from North Strathfield. The TBMs have two more kilometres of tunnel to build before completing the final leg in the journey to Sydney Olympic Park.

The project’s newest addition, TBM Jessie is tunnelling from The Bays towards the Sydney CBD at a slow and steady pace, inching its way underground alongside the Anzac Bridge. The huge machine has excavated 230m of tunnel since its launch in May. The final TBM for the project is expected to begin the second of two new harbour tunnels later this year.

Sydney Metro West will double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD. Fast and reliable metro services will make it easier to travel around western Sydney, link new communities to rail services and support employment growth and housing supply.

New South Wales Minister for Transport, Jo Haylen, said teams are working around the clock to bring Metro west.

“Metro West’s TBMs are digging dual tunnels as part of our government’s $19 billion investment in extending Metro across Sydney and continuing the state’s infrastructure pipeline,” Minister Haylen said.

“We have welcomed the world’s fastest athletes and biggest rockstars to Sydney Olympic Park, and now it is time Metro West’s superstar TBMs to headline here in Sydney’s west.

“Sydney’s brand new rail line will give sports and entertainment fans unrivalled access to this part of town and significantly enhance transport options during major events.”

Member for Parramatta, Donna Davis, said, “It’s been great to welcome TBMs Betty and Dorothy to Sydney Olympic Park, and Daphne and Beatrice have been hard at work so they can join us here too.

“By 2032, Sydney Olympic Park won’t just be linked to the rest of Sydney by rail, but also by this new Metro and Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2. “This will give the people who work, live or play in Sydney Olympic Park many ways to travel in and out.”

Image: New South Wales Government

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