New pictures show what it looks like inside Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel
Two mammoth machines have started cutting through Melbourne’s underground. Here’s what the city’s new Metro tunnels will look like.
VIC News
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Fresh pictures have emerged of the first length of tunnel being dug beneath Melbourne as part of the city’s Metro project.
Premier Daniel Andrews inspected the site of the future North Melbourne station as it was revealed the first tunnel boring machine, after Victoria’s first female Premier Joan Kirner, had dug more than 250m west.
Another mammoth machine, named after Australian women’s captain Meg Lanning, has moved 50m towards the tunnel’s entrance in Kensington.
Each ring is lined with concrete segments, with more than 56,000 to be used during the construction of the entire project.
It is one of the first looks at how the Metro Tunnel will look outside of the large excavation areas built around future stations.
“We’re really making fantastic progress,” Mr Andrews said.
“The second TBM is in the ground, building the biggest public transport project in Victoria’s history.
“You can see this project is real. It is happening right across the city.
“It’s amazing to see how much work is happening underneath Melbourne, to build the Metro Tunnel and deliver more frequent, reliable trains every day.”
The two tunnel boring machines at North Melbourne will dig west towards Kensington before being deconstructed, returned to their starting points and turned around towards Parkville.
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Another two machines will start at domain, dig towards the tunnel’s eastern entrance near South Yarra and then be turned around towards the CBD.
“I’m delighted to see the progress being made by these huge tunnel boring machines. It’s an early glimpse of what the Metro Tunnel will look like,” Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said.