Construction on the Metro Tunnel at South Yarra will shift up a gear this month as critical works to build the tunnel’s entrance structure take place.
Buses will replace trains on the Sandringham line between 8:00pm, Tuesday 21 May and 7:00am, Sunday 9 June as teams work around the clock to build the roof and foundations of the Metro Tunnel’s eastern entrance.
More than 160 metres of tracks, ballast and overhead signalling will be removed to enable major excavation and construction to take place below the Sandringham line.
Metro Tunnel crews will pour 400 cubic metres of concrete to install elements of the roof and the approach slab for the tunnel entrance, as well as complete piling to provide structural support for the tunnel’s descent.
Once complete, these works will be buried and the tracks reinstated above to allow trains to resume operation. Crews will also install 1,600 metres of cabling alongside the tracks between South Yarra and Windsor stations for signalling, power and telecommunications.
These works will build on progress made during April at South Yarra on the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston lines when the project team demolished the William Street Bridge, poured the first roof slab for the tunnel entrance, removed 13,000 cubic metres of rock and soil to widen the rail corridor and installed 88 concrete piles.
Construction on the South Yarra tunnel entrance has been underway since late last year. Two massive Tunnel Boring Machines will be launched later this year from the St Kilda Road site of the new Anzac Station towards South Yarra to connect to the tunnel entrance.
Once complete, the Metro Tunnel will save Sandringham line passengers up to 20 minutes a day – with faster journeys to St Kilda Road, Parkville and Southern Cross Station. It will create room for 72,000 more passengers ever week during peak periods.
Buses will run between Flinders Street and Sandringham stations between 8:00pm, Tuesday 21 May and 7:00am, Sunday 9 June to enable these vital works.
Sandringham Line passengers are encouraged to plan ahead before travelling and allow an extra 60 minutes for their journey, with detailed travel information available at ptv.vic.gov.au. For more information about Victoria’s Big Build, visit bigbuild.vic.gov.au.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan
“The creation of the tunnel entrance will be a major step forward in linking the Sunbury and Cranbourne Pakenham lines to add capacity for more than half a million extra trips on the network every week.”
“While construction teams are working here to create the eastern tunnel entrance, crews are also hard at work at sites across the city on this massive project to transform Melbourne’s metro train network.”
“We’ve made huge progress on the eastern entrance – that will continue during this construction blitz as we get ready for major excavation under the Sandringham line.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020