The first tunnel boring machine (TBM) to begin excavating under the centre of Sydney has finished its journey and broken through at the future site of Barangaroo Station.
TBM Nancy broke through a wall of sandstone after a 15 month excavation to deliver Sydney Metro’s newest railway tunnels.
Nancy was first launched from Marrickville in October 2018 and has tunnelled through 8.1 kilometres of sandstone and shale. It has excavated more than 821,000 tonnes of rock, enough to fill 126 olympic swimming pools.
It reached the site of Pitt Street Station in August 2019, where it underwent maintenance before begin launched towards the Barangaroo Station site.
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The new tunnel passes through new metro railway station sites at Waterloo, Central, Pitt Street and Martin Place and has left behind a concrete lined and waterproofed tunnel.
The TBM is named after transport pioneer Nancy-Bird Walton OBE, who was the Commonwealth’s first female pilot to carry passengers and founder of the Australian Women Pilots’ Association.