Almost 30 million hours have been worked on the Metro Tunnel Project – the equivalent of keeping more than 2,500 people in full time work for the six years – since the project began.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Monday (June 28) met some of the project’s 900 apprentices, cadets and trainees, who have been given an early career boost by the chance to work on this city-changing project.
After the completion of TBM tunnelling, Arden Station is taking shape with the platforms being constructed and the Laurens Street station entrance ground floor slab poured. The twin tunnels are now being fitted out with base slabs and steel brackets to house high voltage power cords.
Tunnel entrances at South Yarra and Kensington are now complete and connected to the main tunnels.
Construction is well underway on 26 cross passages – short tunnels that connect the main rail tunnels so people and emergency services can move between them in case of an incident, an official press release said.
Work is ramping up on the project’s five new underground stations, with the final stages of excavation underway and work continuing to build walls, roof structures, entrances and platforms.
Once the station structures are well advanced, crews will fit them out with electrical, mechanical and ventilation systems, as well as the next-generation signalling and train control technology needed for future High Capacity Metro Trains to be used on the line.
Installation of the systems will be an incredibly complex job, with each system needing to function and interact safely with all the others and the existing network.
Once the tunnels and stations are fully fitted out, a long period of testing will ensure that the systems are integrated and talking to each other so that the newest part of Melbourne’s rail network can be operated safely and reliably.
Completion of the project in 2025 – a year ahead of schedule – will transform how Melburnians move around the city.
Metro Tunnel passengers at CBD stations will be able to connect to City Loop services via underground pedestrian links at Flinders Street and Melbourne Central stations, and people will be able to catch a train to Parkville, Arden and St Kilda Road for the first time.
(Media release)
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