Sydney Metro: Major construction kicks off at Sydney Olympic Park Station

Premier Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott visited the Sydney Olympic Park site, where major work is starting on the station.

Mr Perrottet said the new Sydney Metro West line would provide a vital transport link to a growing Western Sydney and deliver world-class metro services to more communities. 

“Our Government is transforming the way that people move around Sydney, investing more than $76 billion in transport infrastructure across the state, including more than $16 billion in Western Sydney alone,” says Premier Dominic Perrottet.

“The centrepiece of this investment is Sydney Metro, Australia’s biggest public transport project.

“Work is now underway to excavate 468,000 tonnes of rock and soil – the equivalent to 78 Olympic swimming pools – to make way for a state-of-the-art metro station at Sydney Olympic Park. 

“This new transport link will further reinforce Sydney Olympic Park’s status as a premier event, sporting, and entertainment precinct, supporting the transit of more than 10 million people who visit or stay each year,”  says Premier Dominic Perrottet.

Two mega tunnels arrive at The Bays

The two machines have arrived at The Bays Station site and will be the first in the ground for Sydney Metro West, where they will carve out 11-kilometre twin tunnels from The Bays to Sydney Olympic Park.

These tunnel boring machines (TBMs) include refurbished parts from the mega boring machines used on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project. The cutterheads, front and gripper shields were initially used for the TBMs that dug the metro tunnels from Chatswood to Blues Point.

Once launched, the newly arrived TBMs will excavate an average of 200 metres per week, with around 15 workers per shift operating each TBM 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

The TBMs are due to start tunnelling from The Bays in the first half of 2023 and will arrive in Sydney Olympic Park in late 2024. 

When Sydney Metro West opens in 2030, it will double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, link new communities to rail services and support employment growth and housing supply. 

TBM fast facts: 

• Each TBM weighs almost 1,300 tonnes, equivalent to three Boeing 747 jets 
• 165 metres long, longer than two Airbus A380s  
• Approximately seven metres in diameter 
• 38 disc cutters per cutter head, each more than 48 cm in diameter 
• The heaviest pieces of the TBM are the front and gripper shield, weighing approximately 280 tonnes each.

“When passenger services start in 2030, Sydney Metro will open the door for more people to explore this dynamic destination, providing a major boost for the area,” says Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott.

“Enjoying a day out at this sporting and entertainment precinct will be more accessible than ever – a metro train will take you from Parramatta to Sydney Olympic Park in just five minutes, and from the Sydney CBD, it will take just 15 minutes,” says Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott.

Construction of the 200-metre-long, 37-metre-wide, and 27-metre-deep station box has started and will take around 13 months to complete.

To construct the station box, 468,000 tonnes of rock and soil will be excavated, equivalent to 78 Olympic swimming pools.

Sydney Metro Chief Executive Peter Regan said once the station box is complete, it will be used as the extraction site for four of the six tunnel boring machines used to construct the twin tunnels for Sydney Metro West.

“When this fully accessible station is complete, it will provide increased capacity for customers during major events, including two dedicated event-mode entrances,”  says Sydney Metro Chief Executive Peter Regan. 

“Sydney Olympic Park metro station will be located south of the existing Olympic Park Station and provide easy interchange with the planned Parramatta Light Rail, the T7 Olympic Park Line, and buses,” says Sydney Metro Chief Executive Peter Regan. 

The station’s excavation will include installing 114 active anchors and 467 passive bolts, and 2151 rock bolts to support the station box structure as digging progress to a depth of around 27-metres.

The excavation work has started on the station boxes for Sydney Metro West stations at The Bays, Burwood North and Sydney Olympic Park. The first tunnel-boring machine will arrive at Sydney Olympic Park in late 2024.

Source: © Sydney Metro 2022 | © State of New South Wales | © Sydney Metro 2022

Image Source: © Sydney Metro 2022