Sydney Metro: Underground work to start on twin Harbour tunnels within 18 months
TUNNELLING work on twin train tracks under Sydney Harbour will begin within 18 months, after the state government announced it has signed the $2.81b contract for Sydney Metro Stage 2.
NSW
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TUNNELLING work on twin train tracks under Sydney Harbour will begin within 18 months, after the state government announced it has signed the $2.81b contract for Sydney Metro Stage 2.
However the final cost of the tunnelling to provide Sydney with it’s second Harbour rail crossing and overall Metro rail line may increase because there are so many moving parts to the massive project.
The new twin rail lines being bored beneath Sydney Harbour will form a crucial part of the planned $20.8 billion, 66km Metro rail route, running from the city’s northwest, through the CBD and down to Bankstown in the southwest.
New stations are being built along the route, which should ease pressure on Sydney’s jam-packed train network.
Preliminary work on the second Harbour rail tunnel is underway around the Harbour and five boring machines are expected to be in the ground by the end of next year, as part of today’s contract.
“Today’s historic milestone unlocks a generational change to the way people will get around Sydney,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
“The scale of this project and what it will do for the ease and speed of travelling across Sydney is hard to comprehend.”
The new rail tunnels being created beneath the Harbour will extend 15.5km — to Chatswood in the north and Sydenham in the southwest
Work is already well underway on the northwest section of the Metro rail line, running to Rouse Hill and Cudgegong Rd.
The new Harbour tunnel is a crucial part of the city section and the southwest part is yet to commence.
The state government said today the final value of the $2.81 billion contract awarded for the tunnelling and the overall Metro line may “vary” “due to ongoing finetuning and optimisation involving the six other major contracts, for which tenders have yet to be received.
The government added: “The Sydney Metro City and Southwest project cost range has been set at $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion. The final project budget will be confirmed once all major contracts are awarded, following the same process used for the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest.”
Transport Minister Andrew Constance said: “This new Metro line will eventually stretch 66km and connect dozens of suburbs along the way.
“When services through the city start in 2024, the tunnels will move more people than the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel combined.”
New stations being created in the CBD include at Barangaroo and Pitt St Mall.
Martin Place will be massively upgraded.
Once the tunnelling contract is complete in 2021, work will continue along the 30km length of the project to lay tracks, fit out stations and upgrade the existing rail line from Sydenham to Bankstown to Metro rail.
The state government is planning a third Harbour road crossing, from Balmain to Lane Cove, which will link into the WestConnex motorway.
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