Tunnelling on the western end of the Sydney Metro West line has reached full completion after the second and final tunnel boring machine broke through into the future Westmead Station.
Westmead will be linked to Parramatta in a two-minute trip and the Sydney CBD in 22 minutes when Metro West opens in 2032.
Two months after tunnel boring machine Betty crossed the finish line into Westmead, a second machine, Dorothy, has completed the job after a subterranean journey two years through almost 800,000 tonnes of earth.
The Westmead metro station is going to better connect the hospital and health precinct in Sydney’s west which is also serviced by rail, bus and light rail.
At the other end of the line, two machines are cutting their way underneath Darling Harbour to finish at Hunter Street in coming months.
Westmead Public School students have lent their hands to mark the end of the line, providing a splash of colour for posterity to the final concrete segment on the western end of the 24-kilometre line.
30 Year 5 and Year 6 students visited Sydney Metro’s Rosehill site to paint the final tunnel segment before it was put in place by Dorothy.
More than 150,000 concrete segments will be installed on the Metro West line by full completion.
“Our community will welcome this huge milestone of an end to all tunnelling into the future Westmead Station,” said Parramatta MP Donna Davis.
“This project has so much local involvement from Western Sydney-manufactured concrete segments to a workforce that is majority locally-based.
“We are just so proud of the Year 5 and 6 students from Westmead Public for their colourful piece of art that will grace the tunnel for decades to come.”
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.