Tunnel Boring Machines reach halfway mark on Melbourne Metro Tunnel

Two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) have broken through key sections of the Metro Tunnel to mark the half way point of tunnelling for the project.

TBM Meg broke through at the new Parkville Station on Saturday, less than a day after TBM Millie completed its journey from Anzac Station to South Yarra.

Works have continued on the Metro Tunnel Project throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 1,800 workers adhering to strict safety measures to keep the project going.

Now that 50 percent of the tunnelling is completed the machines have so far excavated more than 364,000 cubic metres of rock and soil and installed more than 30,000 concrete segments. These segments weight 4.5 tonnes each and will line the tunnel walls.

TBM Joan which broke through at Parkville Station in late August will be relaunched in the coming weeks to dig towards the new State Library Station, TBM Meg will follow.

Then TBM Millie will be lifted out of the South Yarra tunnel entrance and transported to the Anzac Station site, some of the machine will be pulled back through the tunnel. Later this year Millie will be relaunched towards Town Hall Station.

Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan said we thank all the workers who have been adhering to health and safety guidelines to make sure we can continue this fantastic project.

“To reach the halfway mark of tunnelling and to have two major breakthroughs in successive days just shows how hard crews have been working to keep building major infrastructure Victorians will benefit from.”

The four TBMs are named after ground-breaking women: Victoria’s first female Premier Joan Kirner, Australian women’s cricket captain Meg Lanning, Victoria’s first female Member of Parliament Lady Millie Peacock and wartime medical hero Alice Appleford.

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