Work on Sydney Metro West’s Hunter Street Station is powering ahead as excavation works continue on this future CBD transport hub.
Excavation of the station cavern, where the future station will be built 30 metres underground, is 30 per cent complete thanks to three roadheaders working at the site.
Roadheaders are specially designed electric-powered tunnelling machines that have a rotating head fitted with metal picks to break and excavate rock.
Each roadheader weighs up to 120 tonnes and will be used to excavate the Hunter Street Station cavern and turnback tunnels. The turnback tunnels to the east of the new station will allow trains to turn around before travelling back towards Westmead.
More than 149,000 tonnes of dirt have been excavated by the roadheaders so far, and the largest area of the cavern that has been excavated is 235m2.
As the roadheaders complete excavation on the station cavern and associated tunnels, two tunnel boring machines will be launched at The Bays in mid-2024, to carve out the 3.5-kilometre twin rail tunnels below Darling Harbour to Hunter Street.
When Sydney Metro West opens, passengers will be able to use an underground walkway to connect to metro services on the Metro North West Line and City & Southwest line at Martin Place.
Further connections to the Sydney light rail and train network will also be minutes away on George Street and at Wynyard Station.
Sydney Metro West will double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, linking new communities to rail services and supporting housing supply, transforming Sydney for generations to come.
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