School students have gone behind the scenes of Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop as tunnelling preparations ramp up.
Melbourne’s future engineers and construction workers have toured the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) site at Heatherton, getting a close-up look at the giant tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that are set to begin digging later this year.
The visit to the eastern tunnel entrance formed part of a long-term initiative in which students from local primary schools are nominated each year as Tunnel Boring Machine Captains.
When SRL East opens in 2035, these students will be among the first to travel on the new line to work, university and TAFE.
During the tour, students quizzed project engineers about how the machines operate, including whether there are beds inside the TBMs for workers. While the machines are equipped with offices, kitchens and toilets, they do not include sleeping quarters.
Each year, the TBM Captains will be able to return to the project to learn more as construction progresses and report back to their classmates.
The first 78-tonne TBM cutterhead has arrived in Melbourne and is set to carve the twin tunnels later this year.
TBMs will launch from Clarinda to excavate the 16-kilometre southern section of tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, while another set will start in Burwood to dig the 10-kilometre section between Glen Waverley and Box Hill.
Two tunnel entrances are under construction at Heatherton on the site of the future train stabling facility, where SRL East trains will come to the surface for cleaning and maintenance.
More than 3,000 people are already working on SRL East, which will connect students and workers directly to Monash and Deakin universities and Box Hill Institute.
