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Sydney Morning Herald
23-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Longest metro rail cavern disappears into distance beneath inner Sydney
After taking a temporary lift about 30 metres down a shaft, construction workers descend a set of stairs before an underground world opens up. In front of them, the longest cavern to be built for any of Sydney's three new metro rail lines disappears into the distance beneath Pyrmont on the western edge of the CBD. Carved out of sandstone, the cavern extends for a staggering 320 metres, comprising a 180-metre stretch for station platforms, and 140 metres for a crossover section where trains will be able to switch tracks on the $25.5 billion Metro West rail line between the CBD and Parramatta. Above ground, people walk city streets oblivious to what is happening under their feet. At the western end of the cavern, two giant tunnelling machines named Jessie and Ruby have temporarily come to rest after recently smashing through rock within five hours of each other to reach the site of the Pyrmont metro station. Over the next few weeks, they will be pulled into the cavern for maintenance before they start worming their way under Darling Harbour in mid-August for another kilometre to their final stop beneath the CBD. The two boring machines started their journey from the Bays precinct near Rozelle in May last year, navigating a fault line and foundations for the Anzac Bridge on their journey to Pyrmont. They have been slicing through rock at a third of the pace of other boring machines working on Metro West because of the combination of hard and soft rock under the harbour, which is one of the most complex parts of the project. Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan said the two under-harbour crossings from the Bays precinct to the CBD via Pyrmont were challenging and required extra care during the excavation. 'The tunnel boring machines that are being used here are high-pressure slurry machines, which allows them to go under the water. That's a slower process, and there's been a very cautious approach,' he said. They are expected to reach a giant cavern for the easternmost station on the Metro West line, beneath Hunter Street in the CBD, by the end of the year. By then, they will have excavated twin 2.3-kilometre tunnels from the Bays precinct to the northern end of the CBD, removing 460,000 tonnes of spoil. 'There's a fair way to go, but the route is known,' Regan said. 'It will be very careful [tunnelling], under the harbour in particular, and then under the city, where you've got so many buildings.' At Pyrmont, contractors have had to operate within a tight space above ground, where they dug a shaft to allow excavation of the cavern that is about 18 metres tall and 23 metres wide. 'It's a very tight site compared to some of the other sites that we've operated on,' Regan said. 'Pyrmont is a dense area, and there's a lot of activity. There's also a lot of residential, so it has been quite a challenge.' Regan said the Pyrmont station would most closely resemble Victoria Cross station at North Sydney, which opened last August as part of the second stage of the M1 line. When it opens in 2032, the Metro West line will stretch underground for 24 kilometres between the CBD and Westmead, near Parramatta. The line is the fourth and largest stage of Sydney's metro network, which is one of the world's biggest rail projects, costing $65 billion. Transport Minister John Graham said the new metro station would turn Pyrmont into one of the most connected suburbs in the country, allowing people to reach the CBD within just two minutes by train. 'Multiple transport links here will really make this a big part of the CBD. That's really good for housing; it's really good for jobs in this area. [It will] allow the CBD of Sydney to expand ... as Pyrmont becomes a super-connected suburb,' he said. A 31-storey tower will also be built above the Pyrmont station, comprising 160 apartments and five levels of offices and shops. So far, the Metro West project is about 85 per cent of the way through tunnelling. At the far western end, tunnel boring machines are due to reach Westmead by the end of the year. 'This is incredible engineering,' Graham said. 'One of the remarkable things about these sites is you can walk right across this at street level and never know what's going on underground.'
The Age
23-07-2025
- The Age
Longest metro rail cavern disappears into distance beneath inner Sydney
After taking a temporary lift about 30 metres down a shaft, construction workers descend a set of stairs before an underground world opens up. In front of them, the longest cavern to be built for any of Sydney's three new metro rail lines disappears into the distance beneath Pyrmont on the western edge of the CBD. Carved out of sandstone, the cavern extends for a staggering 320 metres, comprising a 180-metre stretch for station platforms, and 140 metres for a crossover section where trains will be able to switch tracks on the $25.5 billion Metro West rail line between the CBD and Parramatta. Above ground, people walk city streets oblivious to what is happening under their feet. At the western end of the cavern, two giant tunnelling machines named Jessie and Ruby have temporarily come to rest after recently smashing through rock within five hours of each other to reach the site of the Pyrmont metro station. Over the next few weeks, they will be pulled into the cavern for maintenance before they start worming their way under Darling Harbour in mid-August for another kilometre to their final stop beneath the CBD. The two boring machines started their journey from the Bays precinct near Rozelle in May last year, navigating a fault line and foundations for the Anzac Bridge on their journey to Pyrmont. They have been slicing through rock at a third of the pace of other boring machines working on Metro West because of the combination of hard and soft rock under the harbour, which is one of the most complex parts of the project. Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan said the two under-harbour crossings from the Bays precinct to the CBD via Pyrmont were challenging and required extra care during the excavation. 'The tunnel boring machines that are being used here are high-pressure slurry machines, which allows them to go under the water. That's a slower process, and there's been a very cautious approach,' he said. They are expected to reach a giant cavern for the easternmost station on the Metro West line, beneath Hunter Street in the CBD, by the end of the year. By then, they will have excavated twin 2.3-kilometre tunnels from the Bays precinct to the northern end of the CBD, removing 460,000 tonnes of spoil. 'There's a fair way to go, but the route is known,' Regan said. 'It will be very careful [tunnelling], under the harbour in particular, and then under the city, where you've got so many buildings.' At Pyrmont, contractors have had to operate within a tight space above ground, where they dug a shaft to allow excavation of the cavern that is about 18 metres tall and 23 metres wide. 'It's a very tight site compared to some of the other sites that we've operated on,' Regan said. 'Pyrmont is a dense area, and there's a lot of activity. There's also a lot of residential, so it has been quite a challenge.' Regan said the Pyrmont station would most closely resemble Victoria Cross station at North Sydney, which opened last August as part of the second stage of the M1 line. When it opens in 2032, the Metro West line will stretch underground for 24 kilometres between the CBD and Westmead, near Parramatta. The line is the fourth and largest stage of Sydney's metro network, which is one of the world's biggest rail projects, costing $65 billion. Transport Minister John Graham said the new metro station would turn Pyrmont into one of the most connected suburbs in the country, allowing people to reach the CBD within just two minutes by train. 'Multiple transport links here will really make this a big part of the CBD. That's really good for housing; it's really good for jobs in this area. [It will] allow the CBD of Sydney to expand ... as Pyrmont becomes a super-connected suburb,' he said. A 31-storey tower will also be built above the Pyrmont station, comprising 160 apartments and five levels of offices and shops. So far, the Metro West project is about 85 per cent of the way through tunnelling. At the far western end, tunnel boring machines are due to reach Westmead by the end of the year. 'This is incredible engineering,' Graham said. 'One of the remarkable things about these sites is you can walk right across this at street level and never know what's going on underground.'
Sydney Morning Herald
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Sydney Morning Herald
Commuters face at least another eight-month wait for new metro line opening
Sydney commuters will have to wait until at least April next year for the final stage of a $21.6 billion metro rail line to open, forcing tens of thousands to continue catching replacement buses or seeking alternative ways to travel. Converting the former T3 heavy rail line between Sydenham and Bankstown to one for driverless metro trains has been one of the most complex parts of the mega M1 project, leaving the Minns government reluctant to commit publicly to a date for its completion. Sydney Metro is halfway through low-speed testing – up to 25 km/h – of new single-deck trains on the line between Sydenham and Bankstown. High-speed testing is expected to start in September or October, subject to regulatory approval. Marrickville station is the most progressed of the 10 on the south-west section of the line, followed by Bankstown, Belmore and Punchbowl. Campsie and Canterbury stations require the most work to complete. Asked whether it would open in the first quarter of next year, Premier Chris Minns said he was not committing to it because of the government's bitter experience announcing opening dates and not meeting them. 'We've obviously got a target date and a completion date. But when you've got major infrastructure projects like the one that we're trying to pull off here, things can go wrong, and it's been, with some bitter experience that that's been the case,' he said. 'We want to make sure that when we announce that date, the public has got confidence that it will be completed. We believe it will be in 2026, but the date will be released as soon as possible.'
The Age
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Age
Commuters face at least another eight-month wait for new metro line opening
Sydney commuters will have to wait until at least April next year for the final stage of a $21.6 billion metro rail line to open, forcing tens of thousands to continue catching replacement buses or seeking alternative ways to travel. Converting the former T3 heavy rail line between Sydenham and Bankstown to one for driverless metro trains has been one of the most complex parts of the mega M1 project, leaving the Minns government reluctant to commit publicly to a date for its completion. Sydney Metro is halfway through low-speed testing – up to 25 km/h – of new single-deck trains on the line between Sydenham and Bankstown. High-speed testing is expected to start in September or October, subject to regulatory approval. Marrickville station is the most progressed of the 10 on the south-west section of the line, followed by Bankstown, Belmore and Punchbowl. Campsie and Canterbury stations require the most work to complete. Asked whether it would open in the first quarter of next year, Premier Chris Minns said he was not committing to it because of the government's bitter experience announcing opening dates and not meeting them. 'We've obviously got a target date and a completion date. But when you've got major infrastructure projects like the one that we're trying to pull off here, things can go wrong, and it's been, with some bitter experience that that's been the case,' he said. 'We want to make sure that when we announce that date, the public has got confidence that it will be completed. We believe it will be in 2026, but the date will be released as soon as possible.'
The Age
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
This historic theatre sits in the heart of a booming city. It's been closed for more than a decade
It's the smell of melted butter on the popcorn, the taste of the milkshakes, screenings of classic films such as Star Wars and Alien, and the Christie theatre organ that stand out in the memories of many who visited what was once Parramatta's most iconic cinema. Those of a different generation think of lining up to get into a nightclub, booming music and watching footy games on the 'biggest screen in Parramatta'. Whether it was known as a cinema or for Friday drinks, the Roxy holds an important space in the memories of many who grew up in Sydney. But for Parramatta's youngest residents, the heritage-listed theatre is known as one thing: the empty building on George Street with locks on its doors. For more than a decade, the now-95-year-old theatre has remained shuttered and in a state of disrepair, in stark contrast to the buzz of action taking place around it. Running alongside the venue by 2032 will be the Civic Link, a $21 million pedestrianised boulevard that will connect Parramatta Square and the river. To its right sits the future Parramatta metro station, a 'once-in-a-generation' project that recently received concept approval for four high-rise buildings on top of the station itself. It's also due to open by 2032. But instead of the transport project being an opportunity to revitalise the Roxy Theatre, the building's owner believes Sydney Metro is the reason the theatre has been stuck in limbo. In May, K Capital Group's David Kingston, who owns the theatre, began legal action against Sydney Metro, accusing it of blocking access to the Roxy site, preventing restoration. 'Without access, Metro has sterilised the Roxy and prevented its renovation and reopening,' Kingston told The Daily Telegraph. The statement of claim, lodged in the NSW Supreme Court, comes after Kingston submitted a development application to City of Parramatta Council in 2024 to transform the theatre into a nightlife, restaurant and bar precinct. It was refused in February this year, partly because Sydney Metro denied access to the land surrounding the Roxy, which was compulsorily acquired in 2019. Kingston declined to comment on the legal proceedings.
