Suburban Rail Loop East tunnelling moves closer

Suburban Rail Loop East tunnelling is set to begin later this year. Excavation is now under way at the TBM launch site in Clarinda, Melbourne. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Clarinda and Burwood will be the two launch points for the next tunnelling phase.

Suburban Rail Loop East tunnelling route and stations

The SRL East fact sheet says the project will include 26 kilometres of twin tunnels. It also says six new underground stations will be built at Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill.

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The tunnel works page says TBMs from Clarinda will dig between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley. Machines from Burwood will dig between Glen Waverley and Box Hill.

Clarinda and Burwood launch sites

The Clarinda launch site update says excavation has begun on the eastern side of the site. The final depth will be about 19.5 metres. Meanwhile, work on the western side is due to start soon. Crews are completing ground preparation.

Between February and March, nearly 1,000 cubic metres of concrete were poured at Clarinda. Also, crews used a concrete mix designed to reduce carbon emissions. Separately, the Burwood TBM launch site has already been completed. It is ready for tunnelling to begin this year.

Workforce and target opening date

Around 3,000 people are currently working on SRL East. The project is targeting an opening date of 2035.

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