Cavernous Metro West station one step closer

Sydney’s largest cavern hidden under the CBD has been completed. See the incredible pictures here.

The newly excavated Hunter Street Metro Station for the Metro West. Source: Supplied

Hidden beneath Sydney’s CBD, one of Australia’s largest underground caverns has been carved out of rock.

The complex excavation of the Hunter Street metro station has finally been completed, with work on the station’s interior and external towers set to begin when a contract is awarded at the end of the year.

The flagship station will be the final stop on the $25 billion Metro West rail line between Parramatta and the CBD, set to open in 2032.

The newly excavated Hunter Street Metro Station for the Metro West. Source: Supplied

The vast chasm, measuring 20 metres high, 28 metres wide and 180 metres long, took more than 20 months to dig out. A team of 57 workers with a single roadheader removed more than 240,000 tonnes of material.

The newly excavated Hunter Street Metro Station for the Metro West. Source: Supplied

Engineers were inundated with challenges during the excavation due to the proximity of several basements of nearby high-rise buildings and the heritage-listed State Library. The new tunnel is also just 1.8 metres from the M1 Metro line which opened last year.

Transport Minister John Graham said the excavation had ben done in one of the densest parts of the CBD.

“The excavation of Hunter Street metro station is a feat of engineering when you consider the dig came mere metres away from other underground infrastructure, including the other metro line,” he said.

Originally published as Cavernous Metro West station one step closer