Infrastructure: Tunnelling on North West Rail Link starts 4 months early
Tunnelling on the $8.3 billion North West Rail Link has begun, 4 months ahead of schedule.
NSW Premier Mike Baird described the start of the tunnelling phase as “a huge milestone” in the delivery of Australia’s biggest public transport project.
“This shows we are getting on with meeting our commitments and delivering the vital infrastructure this state desperately needs”, Mr Baird said
The tunnelling machine used to create what will eventually become Australia’s longest railway tunnel, is 120 metres long – almost the length of 2 A380 jumbo jets.
The twin tunnels are set to be built at an estimated cost of $1.15 billion. The project will use 4 tunnelling machines and support 900 new jobs, with the North West Rail Link due to open in 2019.
Upon completion, the North West Rail Link will form the first stage of Sydney Rapid Transit, the city’s new fully automated rail network.
Source: News Release NSW Government media release, 08 September 2014