Two Sydney Metro West tunnel boring machines (TBMs), Beatrice and Daphne, have reached the Burwood North Station site.
These TBMs are now more than halfway through their 11-kilometre journey, connecting Greater Parramatta to the Sydney CBD via key station sites like Five Dock, Burwood North, and North Strathfield.
Since their breakthrough at Five Dock Station in December 2023, Beatrice and Daphne have excavated 6.26 kilometres of tunnel, removing over 1.2 million tonnes of earth and installing around 44,100 tunnelling segments.
Preparation for their arrival at Burwood North involved excavating a 29-metre-deep, 25-metre-wide, and 194-metre-long station box cavern, removing around 532,105 tonnes of material.
The TBMs will now navigate through the cavern before continuing their journey to North Strathfield Metro Station, where they will tunnel a further 1.8 kilometres. Completion of this phase is expected in the second half of 2024, culminating in their arrival at Sydney Olympic Park.
Meanwhile, autonomous TBMs Betty and Dorothy are also making progress towards Sydney Olympic Park from the opposite direction, with 3.31 and 2.67 kilometres of tunnelling completed respectively towards Westmead.
Looking ahead, two more TBMs will soon launch from The Bays, set to travel 2.3 kilometres beneath Darling Harbour and into the Sydney CBD.
Once complete, the Sydney Metro West project will double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, facilitating faster travel across western Sydney, connecting communities to rail services, and supporting employment and housing growth in the region.
