The Sydney Metro project’s fifth tunnel boring machine (TBM) has passed final inspections and is now ready to launch from Barangaroo.
The 975-tonne TBM will dig the first of twin one-kilometre rail tunnels under the Sydney Harbour, 40 metres below at the deepest point.
According to a Sydney Metro Authority statement, after building the first tunnel, the TBM’s cutter head and main section will be lifted out of the tunnel and placed on a barge to return to Barangaroo.
The machine’s support trailers will be pulled back to Barangaroo inside the first tunnel.
The TBM is expected to tunnel through clay, silt and sediment and will use the latest tunnelling technology to safely make its way under the harbour.
The five Sydney Metro TBMs will together deliver 15.5-kilometres of rail tunnel.
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