Constructing Anzac Station

Works are continuing at the St Kilda Rd site that will be home to the new Anzac Station.

Significant milestones were reached in January with the completion of diaphragm wall (D-wall) construction in the northern part of the station box.

D-walls, built up to a depth of 23 metres, are essential in creating underground vertical support structures to stabilise the ground, allowing crews to start excavation.

Excavation of Anzac Station is being undertaken over multiple stages.

The northern part of the station box will be excavated first, as it will act as the launch site for the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) later this year.

Once excavation reaches a depth of approximately three metres, a concrete and steel deck will be installed to form the roof of the new station.

During construction it will also help to minimise noise and dust impacts while excavation continues below.

In total, more than 400,000 tonnes of rock and soil will be excavated to create Anzac Station.

During excavation, to minimise the impact on traffic, trucks will use routes that link to major roads and freeways instead of using the local road network.

When D-wall construction is complete in the northern box, the equipment will be relocated to the southern box, where works will continue for the coming months.

Excavation has also started at the site of the tunnel entrance in South Yarra – this is where the TBMs will be retrieved next year, after they’ve made their journey from St Kilda Rd to South Yarra.

Thanks to all the residents, businesses, cyclists, public transport users and motorists for their patience as we get on with delivering Victoria’s biggest ever public transport infrastructure project.

For more information on Anzac Station, visit metrotunnel.vic.gov.au.

Mini tunnel boring machine on show

The public is being given the unique opportunity to view into the machines that will build the Metro Tunnel, with a model-sized tunnel boring machine (TBM) at Metro Tunnel HQ, the project’s visitor centre in the heart of the CBD.

Four TBMs will be used to build the Metro Tunnel’s twin nine-kilometre rail tunnels.

The TBMs, which have been engineered in Germany and built in China, measure 7.2 metres in diameter, weigh more than 1000 tonnes and are 120 metres in length.

Two TBMs will start tunnelling from the North Melbourne Station site towards the western tunnel entrance in Kensington mid-year, with another two launched from the site of the future Anzac Station on St Kilda Rd towards the eastern tunnel entrance in South Yarra late 2019.

Before they do, the public can view a TBM replica - complete with a spinning cutter-head - at Metro Tunnel HQ, located at 125-133 Swanston St, Melbourne. For more information on Metro Tunnel HQ visit: metrotunnel.vic.gov.au