Sydney Metro West has reached a significant milestone, with its twin tunnels from Westmead to Hunter Street now fully excavated.
The achievement follows a 34-month, continuous tunnelling program, with tunnel boring machine Jessie completing its breakthrough into the future Hunter Street Station.
The milestone marks the completion of Sydney Metro’s wider tunnelling program across four major projects, including Sydney Metro North West, City, Western Sydney Airport and West.
In total, 128 kilometres of new metro tunnels have been constructed, with 19 tunnel boring machines excavating approximately 14.7 million tonnes of material.
For Sydney Metro West, more than 22,900 workers and six tunnel boring machines were involved in delivering the 24-kilometre underground corridor, making it Australia’s longest continuous rail tunnel project.
TBM Jessie’s breakthrough followed the arrival of TBM Ruby at Hunter Street late last year. The machines spent around 21 months constructing 2.3 kilometres of tunnels from The Bays via Pyrmont and beneath Darling Harbour.
When services commence in 2032, Sydney Metro West is expected to significantly reduce travel times across the metropolitan area, including:
- Westmead to the Sydney CBD in just over 20 minutes
- Sydney Olympic Park to Hunter Street in around 15 minutes
- Westmead to Sydney Olympic Park in approximately 7 minutes
- The Bays to Sydney Olympic Park in about 11 minutes
- Pyrmont to Hunter Street in around 2 minutes
With tunnelling complete, the project will now move into the tunnel fit-out phase, including track installation, which is expected to begin later this year.
At the Hunter Street site, teams are preparing to dismantle the tunnel boring machines and lift them to the surface in 16 large components from approximately 27 metres below ground. The removal process will be carried out overnight to minimise disruption in the city centre.
The milestone represents a major step forward in delivering high-capacity rail infrastructure to support Sydney’s long-term transport needs and urban growth.
