The Suburban Rail Loop has reached a major construction milestone, with eight tunnel boring machines now on site ahead of tunnelling later this year.
The massive machines will dig 26 kilometres of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill as part of SRL East, the first stage of the 90-kilometre orbital rail network. More than 3,000 workers are already on site across all six station locations, with the project on track to start boring through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in 2026.
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Where the Suburban Rail Loop tunnel boring machines will dig
The eight TBMs will launch from two sites. Four will depart from Clarinda, heading south toward Cheltenham and north to Glen Waverley. The remaining four will launch from Burwood, tunnelling south to Glen Waverley and north toward Box Hill. Each machine stretches more than 100 metres in length and over seven metres in diameter, and all will run on 100 per cent renewable electricity.
Two of the TBMs have been repurposed from Sydney Metro, while four were manufactured in Zhengzhou by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group, one of the world’s largest TBM manufacturers. In a Victorian first, convertible machines will be used in the southern section, switching from slurry to earth pressure balance mode to handle softer ground conditions near Cheltenham.
What the Suburban Rail Loop will deliver
SRL East will connect six new underground stations at Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill, linking four major rail corridors and providing direct rail access to Monash and Deakin universities for the first time. The Victorian government estimates the line will carry around 70,000 passengers daily and slash travel times significantly across Melbourne’s east and southeast.
The project is also central to a major housing push, with plans for 70,000 new homes within walking distance of the six station precincts. Draft structure plans for those neighbourhoods are currently open for public consultation until 22 April.
TBMs named after influential women
Following a tradition dating back to the 1500s, all eight machines have been named after women. Local primary school students along the SRL corridor selected the namesakes, which include music producer Alice Ivy, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Bunurong Elder Aunty Muriel Bamblett, celebrity chef Elizabeth Chong and construction trailblazer Hacia Atherton. One machine is named after Isolde Piet, who will lead the SRL’s southern tunnelling crews as the world’s first female TBM pilot — including what will be the world’s first all-women TBM crew.
Construction of SRL East is creating up to 8,000 direct jobs. Trains are expected to be running by 2035, connecting passengers across Melbourne’s middle suburbs without having to travel through the CBD.
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